Travelers

I read the spam which made it through the filter
enlarge my penis
send money to Nigeria, make millions
get laid TONIGHT
someone has sent me a greeting card, click here
free subscription to a rag I would never read,

A note from you
'hey' you say
'was nice to see you, the other night'
'sorry you couldn't stay longer'
longer, longer, longer,

Why didn't I stay, longer?
I could have, it would have been easy
or would it have been?


Our paths have followed the jetways
crossed back and forth
coast to coast
continent to continent
coffee shop to coffee shop
hotel to hotel,

One-line e-mails
voice mails
and no mail, for months,
'in Paris, NY tomorrow, where R U?'
'Cleveland today, SFO -> LAX – fuck',

And that we did
an hour or a night
quick as a spark of stray current
slow as Sunday afternoon,

Then, the rental car counter
airport shuttle
Airbus or Boeing
some little prop-job with a pilot
who just started shaving,

Watching the clouds
the miles drifting below
that goofy smile
one sees sometimes on travelers
who just got laid,