Airport: A Prose Poem

2nd Friday Prompt: travel tales

The need for space cloaks around me

My silence lengthening with every breath

Claustrophobia rings in my ears

Trapped again in yet another airport

Aren’t the airports bored of seeing me yet?

How many hours have I spent pacing them

Every corner of every country every hub major city

Restless clock gazing people watching window shopping

The words within me all dried up and boycotting me

Hungry, until I get to line of sight of food, and then hunger disappearing suddenly

Just as suddenly as it appeared, causing me to uproot my devices in search of food I didn’t know I didn’t want

Early mornings late nights mid-days, they are all the same here

Time hangs on like a leech, sucking my blood dry

Kids screaming, because kids can scream, wish I could too

Everything reeking of same-old same-old

I’ve walked the length and breadth of the terminal and there’s no more to walk

Flights delayed, connections too long, and the very amusing “we don’t have a pilot for your flight”

I mean, isn’t that the least they could do, find a pilot? In advance of the day of the flight?

Done with my destination, on my way back home

Oh how I wish I could be home right now

Instead of stuck in this hellish limbo

Trapped again in yet another airport

Paroma Sen 2023

Prompt:

For this week’s prompt, write about a travel experience. As we come up towards the end of the year, many of us will travel for the holidays. There are always things we love and abhor about travel. One of my particular nightmares is the airport and it always makes me dream of the day that teleportation would become a reality.

Feel free to use any form, either poetry or prose poetry , with a minimum of 200 words. Please use ‘Prompt’ and the type of submission (‘Poetry’ or ‘Prose Poem’) as two of the tags. Tag me in it, link to this post, and have fun!

16–11–2023 Viraji’s note: Apologies for the delay in publishing this prompt that was promptly received on time! But we have time — to potter around in airports — so let’s make the most of it and send our submissions to Scrittura!

Audrey Howitt Aaron Quist Kevin E. Pittack Jr. Zay Pareltheon Viraji Ogodapola Marilyn J Wolf Samantha Lazar Mia Verita Pamela J. Nikodem, MSED Agnes Laurens Agnes Chan。阿詩疑亭🧕🏼✍🏽 A.j Thomas Alex Tiu Alice Armour Altus Amy Jasek Amy L. Bernstein Ana Maria Irueste-Montes Angelina Der Arakelian Annine Massaro Ann Marie Steele Anthony David Vernon Anna Rozwadowska Jam | Creative Bahora Saitova BJ Dawson Ben Human Betsy Denson Suntonu Bhadra Bob Metivier Victoria Ponte Brian S. Hook Caitlin Rebecca Camille Fairbanks Caroline Mellor Charlene Marron Cheryll MV Chris Mooney-Singh Joao Coimbra Connie Song D. Abboh Danielle Loewen Daniel Bhakti Rosy Rane Darryl Willis Dewain Belgard Dennett Dermott Hayes Destiny S. Harris Dylan Skurka Eddie Becker Enne Baker Ema Dumitru Ed Newman Era Garg Erika Burkhalter Evan Wildstein Filza Chaudhry Christina M. Ward Gary Chapin Geetika Sethi Alex Guenther Harley Bell Hawkeye Pete Egan B. Iain Lenninski Ian Cunnold IMΛBӨПG FΛMIПЦ Imad Ilaria Mangiardi Jade Willow Jaswanisarika Winifred J. Akpobi Jaylee Reign Jay Sizemore Jeff Langley J.L. Littlejohn Jenine “Jeni” Baines Jennifer Dodge Jenny Justice Jeremy McKay Joe Luca Joseph Lieungh Josh E. Josh Lonsdale just a twenty something Kate-lynne Pigg Katrina Bos km. rowe Kirk Albert Alexander Keith R. Higgons Kristin Doherty Kyla Sawyer laksh Laurie Perez Lennie Varvarides Wry Welwood Lisa Marie Simmons Ludovico Leone Mahnoor Mai Yamamoto Natalie Wilkinson Marcus Chan Margie Pearl Mary Jones Mary L. Holden Melissa Rodriguez Mark Tulin Michael Centrone Mike Scarpiello Debbie Miller Mimi Bordeaux Breathe & Be Still Sally A Mortemore M.T. Pariti Niki Madore Nilla Chen Jonah Angeles Pablo Pereyra Vaishali Paliwal Paroma Sen Patrick M. Ohana Paul Mulliner Penny Grubb Patrick Metzger Alistair J. Kraft Lindsay Soberano Wilson Rachel K. Ravyne Hawke Sean Zhai Rhonda Marrone Somsubhra Banerjee Shringi Kumari Suzanne V. Tanner Shiraz Zafar Hussain Sydney Duke Richey Margaret’s Reflections I am not a Robot Kira Dawn Theophilus Auctor Thomas Plummer Theodore McDowell Tree Langdon Fox Kerry Upen Singh Willow Schroeder Vic Spandrio Skye Nicholson Winslow Thornhill Carlo Zeno Evelyn Jean Pine Masha Zubareva Pseu Pending (Seu) John Newmark Zach J. Payne Crooked Timber Linda Sharp Kait Leonard Astral Escapes ∞ Jeff Burton Brother Bhunru Kensu Ridge Ryan Janise Jona Daye Anu Anniah Obinna Uruakpa Jessica Lee McMillan Barsha Kar Rui Alves Nikita Joshi Joel R. Dennstedt Katherine Myrestad Andy Lammers AVG Alicia Casner chel writes Sana Sparks Matt Youth Cat Strav Jay Squires Uzaifa Memon Debra G. Harman, MEd. Arka Ghosh Fiona Guest Anish Bhattacharyya Tariq Ulixes Hawili Edward Swafford Amanda Weir-Gertzog Arushi Sahu Charles Source Loddie Foose, Claire Kelly Emmanuel Ogamdi Mykel Vinitha Dileep A.M. Goode Helen Jesse Wilson Tiffany A Krista Lisa Fouweather Ann Mary Alexander Mahin Alexandra Axente Brian Throne 𝐡.𝐚.𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 Snehalsaju Aurelia Bliss Nitin Dangwal Lovely Poems M.A. Sonncraft Ashish Jha Sam Grackle Yong Kim Marie Cadette Pierre-Louis🇭🇹❤️💞 Daphne Sampson Jesse Sheppard Bakliterati Xine Segalas keri maureen Sherry Atkinson Vesselin Danchev Quy Ma K A Simran Thaddeus Jenny Blue Matthew J. Koehler Vincent F. A. Golphin Blessing O Swathi Rao Stevenharrison