Airport Security

I'll be boarding quite a few airplanes in the next few months and thought of this.


                                                          Airport Security


                                              After establishing our identity,
                                              we shed our shoes like pilgrims
                                              at some sacred shrine,
                                              then divest ourselves
                                              of our worldly possessions
                                              as well: coins, keys, cell phones
                                              loaded into plastic lifeboats
                                              to follow our footwear
                                              on a silent funhouse ride.

                                              Then we hope we are ready
                                               to pass through the holy gate,
                                               rich men at the Eye of the Needle,
                                               praying to avoid the judgment
                                               of the beep and the embarrassment
                                               of the electronic wand.

                                              As we emerge on the other side,
                                              we scramble to gather our belongings,
                                              like Lucy or Chaplin at the end
                                              of an accelerating assembly line.
                                              We stuff our pockets and grab our shoes,
                                              but there’s no place to sit

                                              so we do the best we can, 
                                              wealthy refugees limping or hopping
                                              toward our destination, towing our
                                              baggage behind us as we try
                                              to carry on.