isla mujeres

   

if you were to look

from the front of the upper deck

of the ferry from isla mujeres

to puerto cancun

today at 12:30pm

you would have seen us

over the left shoulder

of the guitar player

fumbling with a 9 volt battery

as he tried to tune his strings

you would have seen my wife

in her movie star sunglasses

and her hair slicked back

lean her head onto my right shoulder

and mine lean over

to touch the top of her head

if you looked closely

just to the side of my left

fire iridium sunglass lens

you would have seen the tear

released from the corner of my eye

and you might wonder

was that tear all that was left over

when our reality

was subtracted from my expectations

or was it simply

the mucous surface of my eye

irritated by the salt in the air

and the speed at which the boat

was traveling.

natural selection

as we were looking

for something to watch on the tv

to calm your nervous stomach

to help us forget your lost breakfast

i saw a peacock display his ornamental feathers

and learned that mice sing songs

that humans cannot hear

in order to attract a mate

walking out to the pool an hour later

a twentysomething guy

with a tribal tattoo on his shoulder

dropped to the pool deck

and rattled off twenty pushups

with excellent form

he stood back up

his wife took off her shirt

and they walked out onto a small bridge

over the lagoon

in their bathing suits

so their friend could take their picture

how magnificent his arms looked

and how chiseled his pectorals

in his perfectly tanned skin

we couldn't help but look

at all those iridescent tail feathers

and listen carefully

to his ultrasonic little song.