Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Doodles at the Sahar Airport


Distraught mothers waving sons goodbye
Harassed men pushing carts loaded with many bags
Sweet-looking, brusque, beautiful hostesses
New mothers holding wonder-eyed babies
The computer professional, knapsack on shoulder
Executives striding confidently, nervously
The confused tourist carrying backpack too large
Painted women whose stilettos make them imposing
Confusion of passports, boarding cards, endless queues
Gun-holding security men in starched uniforms
The strong smell of disinfectant, sanitized food
The airport is where voyages are embarked and disembarked
Not in steamy hot man-o-wars of yore, but
In air-controlled seclusion, and sequestered egos
Where every man and woman is an explorer
Compressing months of travelling into a few hours
And merging people into one palimpsest of cultures.

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