The Meaning of Chasing Sunset

 

In the summer of 2015, mom and I embarked on a series of roadtrips, turned flights, turned cruises that would take us around the country and into others. The title of this blog, Chasing Sunset, came from our trip to the west coast where we tried multiple times to catch the sunset over the ocean and missed it in three different states. I said, "It feels like we're just chasing sunsets," and tears immediately sprung to my eyes, as I realized that is exactly what we are doing with mom. Mom's dream (bucket list, if you will), is to see all 50 states, and I'm doing everything in my power to make that happen. As of this posting, we have only seven left, including Hawaii.

The ironic part of this whole series of trips, especially the roadtrips, is that we really didn’t have time for much of anything, and yet we saw and did so much. From Niagara to New Orleans, all of New England, the UK and Ireland, the entire west coast, and everywhere in between, we made our way and took lots of pictures. That’s where this blog comes from--the sites, yes, but the moments and memories, and emotions that drive my poetry all mixed and mingled during this alone time (well, mostly alone) with my mom. I hadn’t had that in decades, and I didn’t know how much I needed it.

You may find an additional poem or two in here for special occasions, but I've now dedicated this blog to the poems inspired by the photos we've taken on these trips. They are emotional and imaginative responses to the photos, not necessarily a log of the trips themselves. That will sooner or later be a memoir.