The
Treasure Chest That Is Key West
Duval Street,
along which Papa
dragged his
six-toed cats’
water-bowl one drunken night,
to a house with a
library and typewriter,
pecking out
memories of mountains, war, and Africa.
An open sky with
lots of sun,
soft afternoon
rains to ease the heat,
and under both a
treasure trove
of things to see,
eat, and do.
Glass bottomed
boats,
hovering above
coral reefs located miles off shore,
leaving room for
Captains’ wheels,
parasail
harnesses, snorkles and scubas,
all sharing clear
waters with giant sea turtles,
beyond sandy
beaches, and southernmost tips.
It’s not crowded
here because the sea is so vast.
The best Key Lime
pie (buy it at the kiosk in the Post Office, believe it or not!)
The My Blue Heaven
lunchtime menu,
and other eateries
serving yellowfin tuna, or cuban sandwiches.
Don’t forget
Pepe’s with a full course Thanksgiving dinner every Thursday.
Trolleys,
bicycles, motorbikes for travel,
or the joy of
walking on just your own two feet
Viewing along the
way skeletons dressed in leather in motorcycle shops,
sponges and
statues on display,
and numerous
densely populated bars full of nautical and seaworthy folk.
A daily sundown
carnival with cat acrobats, magic,
massages, and
stunning sunsets painted into a darkening sky.
Evening ghost
walks, passing raised crypts in the cemetery,
a strange doll
with supposedly malevolent powers,
sure to keep you
awake while you ponder leaving the lights on.
A place to
treasure, a valuable place,
dig deep and
uncover all her jewels,
and when you leave
her,
let all your
memories be your bounty.
Linda Imbler
Linda Imbler is an internationally published poet, an avid reader, classical guitar player, and a practitioner of both Yoga and Tai Chi. In, addition, she helps her husband, a Luthier, build acoustic guitars. She lives in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A. where she enjoys her 200-gallon saltwater reef tank wherein resides her 24 year old yellow tang. Linda’s poetry collections include eight published paperbacks: Big Questions, Little Sleep First Edition, Big Questions, Little Sleep Second Edition; Lost and Found; Red Is The Sunrise; Bus Lights; Travel Sight; Spica’s Frequency; Doubt and Truth; and A Mad Dance. Soma Publishing has published her four e-book collections, The Sea’s Secret Song; Pairings, a hybrid of short fiction and poetry; That Fifth Element; and Per Quindecim. Examples of Linda’s poetry and a listing of publications can be found at lindaspoetryblog.blogspot.com. Linda has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and six Best Of The Nets.