If Once You Have Slept On An Island
by Rachel Lyman Field
If once you have slept on an island
You’ll never be quite the same;
You may look as you looked the day before
And go by the same old name,
You may bustle about in street and shop
You may sit at home and sew,
But you’ll see blue water and wheeling gulls
Wherever your feet may go.
You may chat with the neighbors of this and that
And close to your fire keep,
But you’ll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell
And tides beat through your sleep.
Oh! you won’t know why and you can’t say how
Such a change upon you came,
But once you have slept on an island,
You’ll never be quite the same.
Islands I Have Known and Loved
Where I first read the "Island" poem. I spent many a day here in the late 70s. Walked the entire island one day.
Awesome diving. I
A fun landing.
Ah, those were the days. Christmas 1977.
I was injured in a serious car accident when coming back from diving here in 1983.
I spent a night here in 2008 while kayaking the FL Saltwater Circumnavigation Paddling Trail.
Two weeks on a small boat. Mom's all-time favorite trip.
By tugboat on a beautiful day in 2002. Loved the wild horses.
I spent a Thanksgiving holiday here with Mom, courtesy of some friends.
The Caranage, Grenada 6-30-2004
Grenada 9-25-04 after Hurricane Ivan 
Islands I Didn’t Care For
Hoity, xerophytic, boring, with traffic jams "downtown"
Island Wishlist
Mom always raves about the diving and the quietude here.
more coming soon….