Arrivals And Departures

Damn, the coffee tasted good Sitting in the airport So relaxed, slow breath in, breathe out Steady, quiet rhythm Some kind of resignation had morphined its way Into my face and arms and legs All the stress, the headache Gone. I didn't know what was to come And in that moment I didn't really care Nothing seemed to matter except the soothing warmth ...of that coffee Cupped in my hands like some reverent libation To the gods. The cold, gray Minneapolis sky should have portended The days ahead I wouldn't believe it, not then When coffee tasted - and smelled - so good How could we be so trifling in our affairs To let the best of life slip away ...so easily No. Not now. But I was wrong. The plane pulled up to the gate People laughing, smiling, hugging their loved ones But as she came toward me The look in her eyes I knew. (Previously published in Some Words: A Place For Poetry, Feb 2000)