Don’t count the days until it ends.
Don’t, in your leisure, sink into news stories,
Especially the murderous, insane ones.
Don’t form new routines. Be new.
Let your vacation be about you.
Don’t take a vacation from your vacation,
Even for a minute or two.
Caption your photos cleverly
Even as you take them randomly.
Allow your family to rediscover you.
Everyone is on some form of vacation
All the time, remember that.
If you argue, be in favor of the nation.
Get sun. Never buy a new hat.
A vacation requires stamina,
Whether in Connecticut, New Rochelle, or Panama.
Walk for miles, so you sleep well at night.
Don’t reminisce by a willow
Unless it’s day, and very bright.
A vacation is about one thing: what’s around the bend—
A different face, a different pillow.
Write this poem at the beginning of your vacation,
Not at the end.