In 1999 I traveled there,
a newly-minted man of twenty-one,
10,000 miles ferried through the air,
to sudden rains, humidity, and sun.
The endless blueness of the ocean view,
the sheerness of the cliffs above the sea,
the flaming blossoms that I found with you
are images that still return to me.
2004 we finally flew away;
we left behind the geckos and the sand.
But, oh, much richer than my landing day,
I carried love, a son, a wedding band.
How little I expected when I flew,
that I would find my paradise in you.

—David Jackson Lohnes
2022