Ode to the States of the U.S.; or at least a few

    Alabama

    I have not done much there, some driving-- a little sleeping

    I attended a church with some faithful

    I looked off the road to stately 

    Birmingham

    City of history and civil rights battles 

    and triumphs

    I could imagine speeches and churches and jail cells

    A tremendous place to be

    Alaska

    Saw some parts of the southeast

    Wet and coastal, trees and mountains, lakes and harbors

    We alighted on Anchorage

    Hot day

    My friend from years past was 

    Banned from law enforcement

    Online searches in the modern age

    The moose from the tour bus, close to the airport

    Had a calf, maybe?

    I took a picture or two

    Alaska, exotic far off place

    Arizona

    I visited it before I lived and left there

    Many long vistas and distant mountains

    Great valleys, or huge gulches,

    For what it may be most famous

    

    We go there for work and play

    I went there a few times

    In uniform, to get things done

    Some sleep deprivation

    Some hot times, nothing too violent

    A bit of intensity, training, living

    Some jokes and classes

    In the higher desert

    I enjoyed myself as a civilian, before

    This is a nice, overall, accommodating region