Josh Gets on Planes

Josh gets on planes

With his miles

With his new suitcase

With the one he bought

Just for this trip

Josh gets on planes

And takes pictures

Before the plane takes off

Of himself

On the plane

Holding a cocktail

Saying ‘See you in a week’

Off using vacation days

Every other month

And putting together

A day off with a holiday

To get a long weekend

And a quick trip

To an island

Any island

As long as he

Can get

On a plane

Josh gets on planes

And goes to places

By himself

Where he can be by himself

And be somebody

Other than

Himself

He checks into hotels

He unpacks the new suitcase
Even if he’s only there

For a day or two

If there’s a balcony

And there’s usually a balcony

He goes out on the balcony

Thinks about taking a photo

Of whatever sunset there is

And then decides against it

Because he can’t tell

If the view is enviable

Or not

Josh gets on planes

And goes to places

That have hotels

That have hotel lobbies

That have endless hours

That stretch on for never

And bump up against

A hang-over

On freshly laundered sheets

Josh gets on planes

But before he gets on planes

He waits in airports

And orders drinks

And sends messages

To friends who live

Close to the places

He might be visiting

And promises to make plans

He won’t follow through on

Because never goes by fast

In a hotel lobby

With a drink dampening a napkin

That’ll never have a number on it

A piano player

Making up a song

While men from a convention

Laugh at a joke

That isn’t funny at all

Josh gets on planes

And the planes take off

And from across the aisle

There’s someone

That looks okay to Josh

And he tries to seem interesting

The way people who don’t feel interesting

Try to give off the impression

That they’re interesting

By hiking up their brows

And biting their lips

And trying to look stressed

As if stress

Was an indicator

Of depth

And character

Josh gets on planes

And when the planes land

He lets everybody else

Get off the plane first

Because he’s in no hurry

To get to never

And start a clock

That counts down

To him getting back

On another plane

So he can post that he’s

Heading home

Without saying

What he did

Between the planes

And the airports

And the carry-on

And the person across the aisle

Who never even looked up

From the book

They were reading

About the Spanish-American war

Josh gets on planes

And the planes move

And Josh moves with them

But Josh isn’t really

Going anywhere

Josh is someone who thinks

Traveling is movement

And movement is progress

And progress is personal

And personal activities

Will lead to personality

And so

He gets on planes

The captain comes on

The seatbelt light goes off

Everybody is free

To move

About the plane

Josh stays seated

He sees no reason

To stand up

And go