Been there, done that...

Flight Checking-in… So, there I stood, again but not, Trepidations; stomach a knot, Many times, I’d not been here, Enough to fill dragons with fear… I tried to make sense, of senseless things, Typed random numbers into touchy screens, And in the end, knew I was beat, Retreating to some human seat… The kindest thing supplied the digits, But return I must, my own fingers would fidget, So, of course, as all should know, The touchy screen chose then to blow… In the end the same cold voice, Now called me over for the human choice, Which would, and should, half hour past, Have saved some life, not long to last… Musical chairs… Hefting bags, through beeping shades, Meekly unpacking as I was bade, Following portents, I knew not where, Into the depths of the earth I dare… Corridors that’ve never dreamed of sun, On and on, the neon does run, Floors that move, and past sights that date, Worried all the time… I’m late, I’m late… But no… an hour was just enough, To reach a plane delayed by stuff, That wasn’t any of my concern, Was my one and only authoritarian return… I board and slink into my space My friend is sent to some random place, But then a fellow volunteered his realm, Such charity today, enough to overwhelm… Then a chance, to sit alone, To stretch, wriggle, and later atone, But Karma will never allow the win, Two others mimic with a grin… And before I might return once more, Some chap, with ooze and politeness swore, My previous place would save mind to think, Away from obese, and rancid stink… So, in the end, though changes made, The result the same, no plans unmade, Sighing that sigh, not offering a peep, While the universe giggled, I went to sleep… Smoking kills… The time had come, the time had gone, It definitely had stopped being fun, One sign here, another there, Just one pull, “it’s so unfair!”… One in the toilet, would anyone know, One behind the potted tree, but no, The looks would come, condemning stares, The sniffs, the disdain, the hateful glares… A bribe, just right, might see it done, Or seduce a stewardess, but not for fun, The cargo hold, but how to find, Some sneaky entrance, their backs behind… No recourse, but see it through, Tell yourself “your will didst grow!”, And in the end, an eternity late, I get a smoke, just outside the gate… The joys of fine cuisine… An hour in, it’s time to eat, What will they bring; what’s the treat, A soggy salad and a smelly curry, Most gobble down; I see no reason to hurry… Fiddling with wrap, elbows tucked close, Grateful for the slightest ‘nose’, Sophistication showing clear, Handling that plastic gear… The guy beside; smacking lips, As that feast further reached his hips, While I struggle with such poisoned fare, Consumed by the grasping outrageous fare… Got bumped up once; plane was full, business beckoned, The seat was wide, the waitress Godsend, A glass of wine, a menu provided, The zoo behind, not a sound reminded… As I luxuriated I knew my worth, Eating well, I increased my girth, Until the time when necessity said NOW, And for a moment, remembered the bow… Bears in zoos are treated humane, Wish the airlines did the same, The thousand, believe the lie, Feels like a street in downtown Shanghai... But after dinner (lunch or snack), Flight, time-telling, takes a knack, You drop a couple of serious sleepers, Forget the lunch and close those peepers… Thank the lord, it’s over… Time to wake, adjust the seat, Fasten safety belt, a car to meet, Not long now, or so they claim, By the time we land, in deserts… there’s rain… I ask you why, thirty minutes prior, You have to sit, as before your sire, In respectful pose, immobile, still, Movies stopped by constant spiel… Then, finally, disembarking smile, Look at those helpers, stress under guile, But work we must; give them their ways, They too have to survive delays… I’m free, at last… of those confines, Restriction without clear design, All to which the pockets line, Taking from you, and me and mine…