"Frequent Flyers" by Yoni Hammer-Kossoy, Frequent Contributor & Poet of the Week

Frequent Flyers

Yoni Hammer-Kossoy

Sleep with its white noised embrace

is a trans-Atlantic flight

piloted by the steady hand

of a golden voiced captain

that takes off on time

and arrives seven hours later

with little fuss or fanfare

just a have a nice day nod and smile

from the bird-like crew

as I leave the plane.

After all these years

I like that you and I lying side by side

get the occasional upgrade

to business class, maybe share

a premium movie package

on the long haul.

But for all its perks

flying isn't what it once was –

when I can't sleep

it feels like gravity failed

or the pilot decided

to try parabolic loops on a whim

instead of the usual flight plan.

And some mornings

it’s almost accidental

that we manage to meet

in the same sun-slanted arrivals hall

rolling day-bags in tow.

Poet’s Notes:  I’ve always been pretty good at sleeping, although I also know plenty of people, including my wife, who don’t have it so easy. And on those occasions when I can’t sleep, apart from my wife’s shock (What’s the matter? Are you ok?) I’m always struck by how wrong the world feels the next day, as if something fundamental, like gravity, has suddenly come undone in the world.