The very first time I ever rode a bicycle
The world expanded into infinite proportion.
Wild licks of my hair billowed as I pumped
And pumped more girlish spunk into the foot pedals.
I smiled even if my front teeth were missing
And I knew that I had finally won over the
Cracks in the sidewalk-- with ease
I could go soaring down the way, ribbons flying,
Now that I had struck that perfect balance—
The easy glide, the triumph...

There is a child wandering around in the grass. 
The whole world has come to a standstill, but this does not stop her from letting her little feet explore the cool turf of a backyard. The natural order has not stopped for illness. The blooms go on gently willing themselves open, and the breezes come by uninterrupted, the bees humming about their carpentry. She lies down, outstretching her arms, facing the sky, drinking in the endless blue of a cloudless...

    It's been months since and I still haven't forgotten the names of the children.
    It was nearly five in the morning, a spirituous mist peeking out over the crests of the Honduran mountains, shrouding the faraway villages as our bus hurdled along the highway, away from a world that had managed to leave its mark on us all. 
    Five days earlier we had touched down in Tegucigalpa, a crowd of a hundred or so Americans on mission. Now,...

    It's been months since and I still haven't forgotten the names of the children or the familiar beat of the songs.
    It was nearly five in the morning, a spirituous mist peeking out over the Honduran mountains and shrouding faraway villages as our bus hurdled along the highway, away from a world that had managed to leave its mark on us all; something that we had entirely understood, and needed no explanation. 
    Five days earlier we had touched...