Departures

1921

Oh-nine-blah-bidee-blah

Deception

Departures

Anybody catch that?

I’m not speaking in code here

I’m just confused

As what

I should be

Expecting

One gets off the plane

And says hello

One says good-bye

The plane takes off

The plane lands

The luggage is retrieved

The reunions occur

There is harmony

And I sit

And wait

By departures

She was supposed to be here

In 1921

Somewhere around here

And the ghosts fly on the planes

The same way

The living do

How else would we get around?

We can’t fly, you know

When you’re dead

You don’t immediately turn into a bird

And angel wings are more metaphorical

Than anything

So…

One day  you’re sitting

On a patch of green grass

Drinking a mint julep

And you hear a voice

Because, notable upgrade

When you’re dead

Phones become unnecessary

You just hear a voice that says—

‘I regret what happened in 1921.

I’ve had ninety-one years to think about it

And I’ve decided I regret it

And I’d like to talk about it’

And—‘Can you pick me up from the airport?  Flight this, this time, see you there’

And then—

‘I miss you’

So you go to the airport

You try not to see the poetry

In the situation

You check your watch

It says the same thing it always says, which is—

‘You’re Dead.  Why Do You Care What Time It Is?’

Maybe you’re late

Maybe you’re early

Maybe she changed her mind

Maybe it was just one big joke

Maybe you’re not even really here

You know, you think that sometimes

You think—

This could be a dream.

This could all be a dream

And if it were

How happy would I be?

Or would I be happy at all?

The carpeting is sterile

The coffee in my hand is tasteless

The announcements over the loudspeaker

Sound like my mother

I feel like I’m being scolded

For being here

Then a door opens

There’s a sharp intake of air

That makes a nearby seeing-eye dog bark

And she’s there

With that same little suitcase

With the broken clasp

And the sticker on top

With her name on it

She looks…the same

I look…different

She walks up to me

Hands me the suitcase

Kisses me on the cheek

And says—

‘Thank you for showing up’

And I’m not sure if she remembers but—

I always showed up for her

That was what I did best

Ninety-one years later

And I’m still showing up

Happy to do it

How do you like that?

We depart departures

And I ask if I can hold her hand

She says ‘Yes’

And somewhere a plane takes off

As planes will continue to do

Somewhere it’s still 1921

But not here

Not today