Aspirations

I followed a dream

to sites far beyond Midwest life,

to time spent at a zoo

and its vast collection of species,

 a matter of days compressed

into an afternoon.

It took me to a historic village,

filled with shops of Spanish architecture

and displays of paintings and souvenirs,

and they spoke with pride of a culture past.

I took pause at its beaches and surf,

the endless pulse of the Pacific at my feet,

and it spoke of lives beyond my horizon.

One reflective afternoon took me

to the pinnacle of my journey,

where on one side of Point Loma,

gray ships of all sizes entered and left the bay,

and to the other, a flotilla of sailboats

dotted the waters extended before me.

For hours I stood in Heaven’s breath

and kept my timeless watch

for whales to break through waves

and show great life often lies below the surface,

far beyond my San Diego stay.

                                  --Mike Bayles

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