Visiting Yellowstone to Escape the Wilds of Civilization

From the parking lot, our machines emerge

Toys that carry us to adventure

Not the us that sat in the SUV for six hours

Not the squabbling teens

Or the stressed adults

The new improved — layered us

Covered by long underwear, bibs,

And heavy jackets that block the cold

We are armor from life

Unrecognizable

We hold tight — knuckles white

Insulated from the icy, crystals that

Make this world appear magical

A buffalo saunters into the road

He pauses feigning interest

Just as the elk scan our intrusion

Apathetically, unconcerned yet annoyed

A coyote scampers leaving prints

First ignoring our presence

Then taking time to glare —

For we interrupt his life

Upon entering the rented room

Our reality returns as the layers fall away

The adventure now a pile on the floor

The TV reports the war’s progress

Teens are heard — a whisper and a whimper

Layers gone, the world touches us

Leaving us cold in our heated shelter

But able to revisit our adventure

Where the cold created warm memories