Connections

I traveled alone by air
One time, well, more than one time,
But this time, sitting alone in my seat
Surrounded by familiar strangers:
Families on vacations,
Servicemen in transit,
Businessmen heading for meetings
Or returning home, at last,
And my family was elsewhere
Perhaps, waiting for me,
At some familiar airport toward which I flew
Or, perhaps, just leaving the airport back home
Where I had been properly kissed goodbye,
Separating at the concourse
Walking back to the car
Sitting in its space in the parking deck.

My plane was then soaring through the blue sky
And I was working on my first soft drink and peanuts
When a pretty young thing,
In her official blue uniform
Carrying a corporate smile and an armful
Of plastic earphones
For the in-flight movie
Stopped by my assigned seat
And inquired if I wanted to purchase a headset
For my personal entertainment, to fill my hours in her care
And I immediately realized that I had no money
In my pockets with which to purchase a headset
And I confessed my poverty
And she stared at me for a few seconds,
A look of indecision on her face,
And glanced away from me toward the other occupants,
Then, finally walked past me to the next row of seats.

In that moment, I wondered,
Was she considering just handing me a headset
As gratuity, a gift from her to me,
A personal touch among the assigned seats in coach
Or was she simply tired of dealing
With the freeloading passengers, like me?
How close did I come to a moment
Of human connection on that flight,
High above the broad expanse of America,
The hills, rivers, forests and farmland
Rolling beneath us, the lives and stories
Passing unseen, as we flew to our destination,
The towns and cities and farms and houses
Falling behind us, mile after mile at a time?