This is Guatemala

I haven't written recreationally in over a decade (other than blog posts). I spend a week and a half in Guatemala and this is what happens

Where the lanes in the road are 6 feet narrower,
the cars 2 feet wider and the pot holes are measured in feet, not inches
and their numbers rival the stars of the sky or the sands of the earth.


Where the food is hot and fresh from the earth,
passed to you by way of fire and sweat
and served in a home that houses families that spread the earth and know no strangers.

Where the people are the salt of the earth,
working harder than the fertile land beneath their feet
to make a better place for themselves and their children,
laughing and smiling through trials that would drive any normal person to their grave.

Where the language is a sweet song
but can become faster than machine gun fire,
lilting and tilting its way to your ear,
into your soul until it hits your bones.

Where the jungles, forests and farms are thick and lush,
have deep, dark greens, yellows and browns
and the people don't know what the words "drought" or "desert" mean
thanks to the ancient rain gods that have looked tirelessly over this land.

This is Guatemala.