THE JOURNEY

I.

All boarded.
Ready to depart.
Filed in a single long compartment
with rows and columns
(thirty two to six precisely).
It’s packed –
seats, shelves, racks, doors,
metal, plastic, fiber, windows,
luggage, food, people, talks,
air, space, atoms, molecules,
hopes, memories, aspirations, thoughts,
wishes, excitement, resent, rage,
regret, remorse…
all sealed tightly,
ready to be transported
to another land.
Announcements made;
Vibrations felt;
Prayers said;
A quick glance;
One last good-bye;
Airlifted.

II.

Eyes meet infinity —
white striped blue
with golden threads
woven together
to craft the world into
existence.
Would it continue to exist
if gold gave way to
absolute black?
Sight replaced by nothingness;
All space and no light;
Stretched timelessness.

From thousands of feet above
everything looks distant;
shrunk to tiny little dots;
eyes tracking them
completing the picture
into a conceivable whole.

Physical distance creates
mental spaces.

As time is left behind.
Only time is looked forward to.

III.

Announcements are made
(Merely as reminders)
bringing time back to life.
All those lost in space
are re-woken.
Descend is felt;
jitters in the stomach.
The city grows, re-sizes —
mountains, rivers, trees, birds,
tracks, trains, traffic, trucks,
roads, cars, smoke, houses, people,
voices…
Momentum breaks monotony.
Vibrations felt;
Prayers said;
A quick glance;
One warm welcome;
Touchdown.

IV.

Pack.
Home.
Car.
Luggage.
Airport.
Walk.
Sit.
Walk.
Airport.
Luggage.
Car.
Home.
Unpack.

Déjà vu.