HOW SOON WE FORGET
Rising at dawn to join the long
Check-in lines, lost baggage,
Missed connections, luggage
Seized by porters speaking
In foreign tongues, on-board
Plastic snacks, and on arrival
Montezuma’s upsetting revenge,
Altitude headaches, the swing
And sway of undulating waves
As we lie in our bunks, unsoothed
By the whining winch and the engine’s drone.
On shore the cobbled streets
And unexpected steps slick
With rain, lintels too low
To duck and then the cough
Bestowed by our plane’s tainted
Air. All these blessings we vow
Never to risk again, But then
The brochures beckon and wea
Recall the friendships, sunrise
On seastacks, sunsets on glacial
Peaks, discovery’s shock of surprise,
Eye-opening, mind-waking and
We begin to plan again.
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