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Now Boarding
by Linda Graham

We arrive at the airport early,

sit around, drink coffee, wander

into Boots, buy a toothbrush,

sample perfume, work out comparisons

of duty free versus hometown pounds,

lounge in chairs, guard our baggage trolley

like a cat under a baby‚s pram,

listen to chatter between two Italian men,

their inflections and nuances,

go to check-in,

check out

a woman in an ill-fitting dress, wonder

if her friends really like her, queue

at Gate 31, try not to notice

a Down‚s Syndrome child in a

grown-up body, watch the clock

and click our impatient tongues,

walk on board and

wait.

Wait

for the thunder of engines,

the Boeing 757 to try its flaps

and levers and different wing shapes,

while a baby starts to cry in the seat

behind us and the Captain says:

Sorry for the delay, a passenger

is deciding whether or not to fly today,

and we click our collective

impatient tongues, and through

the book-size window I watch

potential tourists in the waiting

lounge and see the face of the

Downs Syndrome boy, he‚s

screaming behind the glass

and behind us

the baby

continues crying and kicking

the back of my seat,

the ŒFasten Your Seatbelt‚ light

clicks on and the hostess says

Please pay attention, we are selling

perfumes and sweets and vodka today,

and the Captain announces:

Apologies for the delay.

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Now Boarding by Linda Graham

Now Boarding
by Linda Graham