This summer is vacation-less for me, however my poems (thanks to the amazing Cheryl Gross, Claudia Brieske, and Leslie Huppert) are traveling the world. It has taken me months to finally conclude that Beyond Borders is real. Because I’ve never been, I’m still have to convince myself that most of the world exists—it just seems too beautiful (even magical) to be part of our existence.

I have dreams of traveling one day—dreams of trains and planes, boats and budgie cords, hot air balloons and parachutes. I want to bring J.J.—to lead him through the torrents of story that are in every journey. But for now, poetry is leading the way (as it should.)

Best Summer to All!

For photos of my poems travels, please visit: Virtual Borders

Here is the project description:

Borders are generally seen as nonflexible barriers that restrain and give the illusion of keeping us out of harm’s way. Many borders involve human settlements and through this have the potential to be otherwise flexible. Their presence or non-presence is often based on cultural, social, political, religious backgrounds, and directions, which are always subject to change. This concealed reality is the reason why we refer to borders as virtual.

Virtual Borders is an ongoing project with different stations. The first station is in the Feste Dilsberg, an old castle-ruin from medieval times. It is located in the southwest of Germany, near the City of Heidelberg. For the first presentation in the Feste Dilsberg, we invited artists from different parts of the world to participate. We asked the artists to send videos, animations, and sounds that are connected to the theme of our concept. Whether it is metaphorical or literal, the concept is open to interpretation.

Examples: Borders between body and spirit/soul, real obstacles in landscapes like rivers, canyons and mountains, the border between life and death, borders between countries, between houses, fences, social borders/barriers, cultural borders, borders between races, gender based barriers, etc…