Flight to Romania – DOH → OTP @ 33,003 ft

I reside in seat 19C
My right side slinks into the aisle
The flight crew bumps my knee
Passengers thump my shoulder

2:07 Remaining

The passenger in front of me reclines so far—
my seat monitor is a pencil-length from my nose

I jot in my journal, sip tea from my left hand
My cap rests on the foldout table
Glasses dangle from my collar

An older stocky woman stalls next to me—
waiting on her way to the bathroom
She smells faintly of sweat and urea

The older Romanian couple next to me
watch Hollywood movies they don’t understand

Their daughter sits in front of them
She translates the lunch choices for them

Chicken, beef, or vegetarian?

I awaken the Sudoku game on the seat monitor

A tall, lanky mother paces the aisle
her baby curled in her arms 
A flight attendant slips past, sideways

The white brightness of the outside 
blinds my left peripheral vision
as the old Romanian man lifts the window shade

What does he see?

The allure of window seats left me long ago
Now, I prefer the seat by the aisle
Easier for a quick escape 
I do not like being trapped, no matter the view

I would rather feel the brush of hips 
and the crash of drink carts 

1:54 Remaining

Like numbers in a Sudoku,
hours spent on the plane
fit themselves into place

Time to pee (that is the truth)—

this body
this seat
this moment

1:43 Remaining

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Photo by Y S on Unsplash