Return Flight
Tired sunburned passengers
flying home from vacations
puzzle over Sudoku and crosswords
doze against strangers’ shoulders
read thrillers and airline magazines
grudgingly answer email on laptops
watch Game of Thrones on iPads
draw pictures of Harry Potter characters
pray that the big guy doesn’t recline
snack on mini pretzels
sip coffee and orange juice
retract elbows, shoulders and feet
to evade the drinks cart
and wide-hipped passengers
charging down the aisle
doze off with nodding heads
startle themselves awake with snorts
escort kids to the toilets
curse the airline for lack of legroom
and exorbitant alcohol prices
scroll through photos on phones
searching for elusive images
capturing the happiest, most exciting
and beautiful moments
editing the decent and deleting the crap
like revisionist historians
Nathanael O’Reilly is an Australian residing in Texas. His books include Preparations for Departure, Distance, Cult, Suburban Exile and Symptoms of Homesickness. His poetry has been published in journals and anthologies from nine countries, including Antipodes, Cordite, Glasgow Review of Books, Mascara, Postcolonial Text, Tincture and Verity La.