The Man with the Brown Suitcase

The man with the brown suitcase
Stands within the inner sanctum
Of the boarding and the leaving

He imagines a nasal passage
Breath of life
Leaving the body of the city

He'll be back in four weeks
And the trick will be
To see if he can return
The man he's leaving

His last trip to Denver
Resulted in the consolidation
Of Colt Management firm
And afterward
He tried calling his son
But it went to voicemail

He left a message
Something haphazard
About looking forward to the summer
When they could spend the weekend at the cabin
Even though as of now
It was looking like he'd be in Atlanta
For most of the summer
Trying to get to Podaska mess in order

Jacob would probably be relieved

They hadn't been to the cabin in two years
And last year when he'd felt bad canceling at the last minute
Jacob explained to him that he could go to Miami with some friends
So that it was fine, it was all fine

He now counted on his father to fall through
As others may count on theirs to show up

It was something to think about
On the train

The man with the brown suitcase
Could not fly

It was not possible for him to fly

He once passed up a job
That could have paid off his house
But it required going to Europe
And taking care of the London division
Of McMahon and Sons
And he wouldn't fly
So there went that

He likes trains

No take-off, no traffic
No runways of any kind

Trains could be delayed or break down
This was true
But you certainly didn't fear for your life
When it happened

Call him old-fashioned
He'd stick to the trains

When Jacob was little
He used to love to ride the trains

They'd ride together
He'd take his son a few stops down
And Jacob would watch the city devolve
Into less city, less city, less city

It was wonderful
Seeing his son's eyes
Peel back the outer layer
Of his perception
And realize the weight
Of the outer world

Now Jacob was a flier

He'd hop on a plane
Without even thinking

He could do change-overs
And upgrades
And red eyes
And it didn't phase him at all

He hadn't been on a train
Since he was a kid
Since Marianne died
Since work became life

Since it became necessary
To go farther
Than where a train could take you

The man with the brown suitcase
Gathers his things

His magazine
His pristine great American novel
His gift for Jacob (a pocket watch on a chain)

He began his walk down the platform
To the train
Feeling uncomfortable
In that moment

That moment of pushing yourself forward
To another destination
And at the same time
Hoping somebody stops you
From leaving