Travel plays an important role in my life. On social media I share stories of adventures in far-flung places, but sometimes the lived experience is different. Many of the lands I visit are ravaged by colonialism, and much can be said about the role of tourism in maintaining the damaging impact of empire. Often, I am a stranger, in a strange land. When my “traveler’s angst” kicks in, always, I turn to the natural world for solace. The plants and animals that populate a local environment exist outside of the great human lie: the idea of a border. Through them I can witness what I am always seeking: community, belonging, authenticity. My poem “Pape’etē, Tahiti” tells the story of the traveler’s angst I felt while visiting that remarkable archipelago, and how the vibrant ecosystem around me inspired that most wonderous feeling: love.

Carrie Carter is a poet living in Washington, DC. She holds a BA in English from The Ohio State University. Her work is published with Troublemaker Firestarter, Humana Obscura, Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature, and elsewhere. Her chapbook High Water was published by Quillkeepers Press in May 2023. She is a member of the Newark Street Community Garden, DC Beekeepers Alliance, and the National Writers Union.

I: @ancestorregime