To the Artist's Page                    To our home page

To Brent M. Parker's previous piece     To Brent M. Parker's next piece

In the Unlikely Event

Kept awake by a colorful glare
In an atmosphere of canned air

As overpriced earphones
Pump witless dialogue
Into the ears
Of the impatient,
The easily bored

The captain's voice
Rips our cocoons

This cannot be the same captain, who
But an hour before
Knew we had a choice in air travel
And thanked us for flying
His airline

He gently informs us of our
(And his)
Fate
As my round trip ticket
Mocks me from my wallet

"I couldn't sleep on you"
I say to my chair
"You sure as Hell
(Or Heaven, I hope)
Had better keep me afloat!"

Meg Ryan's lips move
Silently
Surely

Suddenly,
What they are saying
Has become terribly
Important to me

Splash.

To the top of this page