​A day trip to Washington D.C.
My plan had just been to wander down the mall
See where inspiration struck
When the bus pulled into Union Station
In the early afternoon
It was 37C / 98F
I sat in the shade of the Botanical Gardens
To eat my lunch
And wandered through the exhibits
The tropical zones felt temperate by comparison to the outside

The Museum of the American Indian
Fascinating and harrowing
The opposition of perspectives
The betrayed treaties
The visual poetry of Jenny Ann “Chapoose” Taylor’s “Nations”
A beaded American flag where
The stars are made from two-letter abbreviated state names and
The stripes from the names of 456 tribes
The hidden child in the bronze statue
Edward E. Hlavka’s “Allies in War, Partners in Peace”
You have to go into the alcove to see her
Glancing up at her elders
Clutching her doll

Late in the afternoon
It was still blazingly hot but
I walked down the mall anyway
Convened with The Council of Animals
Walked all the way down to the White House
Where the secret service were cycling the perimeter 
A large group of tourists clamored at the front gate of
The People’s House
Unable to enter
But still excitedly taking selfies

A few minutes down the road
Immigrant Food
Mission: Celebrate the successes of past immigrants and positively impacts today’s immigrants who have come to America to remake their lives
I had the Persian Plants and Peas --
Seasoned chicken, split peas, crackle rice, goji berries, kale, kalamata olive dressing and fresh mint
Created by Chef Taraneh Salehi

And then, the reason for the trip in the first place
A visit to The Kennedy Center
It’s always surreal to visit places IRL
That I’ve been researching online
They’re real!
(Much like America. I grew up watching it on TV, in movies. It’s real!)
The grandness of it
I felt sweaty and gross after the heat of the day and wished I could take a shower

Up to the gods of the concert hall
For the world premier of RENT with a symphony orchestra!
It began with an overture and before I knew it
The tears were flowing
All the feelings about all the ways this musical
Has been in my life for over two decades
Through high school and uni and travel
Through loves and losses
And international moves
And cancer (my own and dad’s and my friends and the friends who aren’t here any more)
And marriage
And now separation
How do you measure--

And at the end of the night
I boarded a bus
And traveled through the early morning
Back to New York City
Where it was still hot and
Where I call home
Despite all of its crazy and
All of its terrible contradictions
And collapsed into bed.