Airport Poetry

Absolutely classic. It just had to be today. Peter was watching the departure board as the hopeful, encouraging ‘Gate Information Expected Soon’ in cheery white script flicked over letter by letter to that most ominous of words in a bold red: ‘DELAYED’. Groaning audibly, and shrugging his backpack crammed with all the things too heavy to go in the hold off his shoulder, Peter cast his eyes around the bustling airport despairingly, hoping for some contrite saviour with an explanation. No-one immediately rushing forward explaining away the delay with an apology and perhaps an invitation to another flight, he supposed he should probably find somewhere to sit down.

Now began the unending turmoil. Airports always gave him the unbearable feeling of being trapped. As soon as you step through that metal-detector gate there’s no turning back, and the only way forward is flying away. At this particular moment however, nobody seemed very keen on flying him anywhere at all. All the chairs in his immediate vicinity being occupied, he spied a pair of empty seats about eight rows away and scurried over to them at speed, with all the dignity of someone who doesn’t want to run in public but simply cannot forgo the golden opportunity of a free seat in a crowded December airport.

Hurtling around the corner at the end of the row, he made his way along it with many frantic ‘sorrys’ and ‘excuse-mes’, tripping over numerous bags and winter coats dumped like hurdles in his path. Looking up briefly at his target he saw a manic-looking young woman enveloped in an extremely puffy dark blue coat with a fur hood, light grey bobble hat, and a stripy scarf flying behind her as she too scrambled for the spare seats. The two made quite a pair as they slumped down simultaneously in a huff next to one another and regained their breaths. Now with the security of a chair to wait out this inconvenient purgatory, the urgency of the previous thirty seconds seemed rather silly and Peter looked rather bashfully at his new partner in shenanigans. She was very red in the face and clearly trying not to pant as she pulled off her hat and scarf revealing smooth coffee-coloured hair in plaits over both shoulders.

She smiled up at him with an elfish grin and twinkling eyes of a colour he couldn’t quite pin down. Depending on how she held her head in the light they reminded him of the rich green-brown of a forest floor, the sparkling turquoise of a coral sea or the rocky moors of Devon in June. She extended a hand in a bright pink knitted mitten and quickly pulled it off. “Great minds and all that.”

“That’s what they say” Peter laughed and shook her hand warmly. “Hold onto that seat, the vultures are swirling.” There were indeed many fellow travellers stalking up and down the rows of seats looking for an opening. She chuckled approvingly at the joke and then reached into her bag pulling out a thin unmarked book. Sensing the universal signal that this short-lived conversation between strangers was over, he turned slightly from and checked his watch, trying to look busy and completely failing.

“Want to hear a poem?” She had flicked about halfway through the book and was looking expectantly in his direction.

Startled but delighted, Peter smiled and said “absolutely!”

Clearing her throat, she began:

“A pair of strangers

Circumstance brought together

What will they do next?”

He furrowed his brow in confusion. “That was a short one.”

“It’s a haiku” she replied happily, “they’re supposed to be short. Three lines of five syllables, then seven, then five.”

“Oh, well all right then. That one was remarkably appropriate for our present situation, two strangers circumstance brought together.”

“It was supposed to be.” The elfish grin returned as she turned the book around revealing an empty page. “I came up with that one. This is my notebook, and I thought this page could do with filling with some airport poetry. The question was for you though: what will they do next?”

The gauntlet had been laid down then, he thought. “Okay give me a minute to think, I’ve never done haikus before.” Peter shut his eyes and thought hard. After ten seconds or so, he opened his eyes and replied.

“A pair of strangers

Will always remain strangers

Unless they swap names"

Nodding satisfactorily she gave a little mock bow. “Effie.”

“Peter,” he returned, “pleased to make your acquaintance Effie.”

“Acquaintance not friend” she queried?

“Well, is acquaintance not merely the first rung on the ladder of friendship?” he posited.

“All right Mr philosopher.” Now it was her turn to focus and Peter smiled as he saw her drumming her fingers on her knee, counting out the syllables in her head. Brightening, she turned back to him.

“A pair of strangers

Going on an adventure

Expedites friendship”

“Well, that sounds like an excellent idea! But I’m inclined to think that not many great adventures begin in an airport lounge.”

Pouting at him she protested. “Now I had you pegged as a swashbuckling soul. Adventures can start anywhere; you’ve just got to find them.”

Never wanting to be underestimated, Peter considered the possibilities the next few hours held for him. On the one hand an excruciating wait for an indeterminate length of time in an uncomfortable plastic chair surrounded by grumpy travellers and screaming children. On the other… well he wasn’t quite sure, but certainly it promised something new and different. Picking up his backpack he didn’t notice that all of a sudden the weight didn’t bother him anymore.

“A man with free time

Offered chance of adventure

Is foolish to refuse”

Effie smirked up at him. “That last line was six, but I’ll forgive you for now. Just make sure you write another one for me later. Come on then!” The duo rose together and strolled off, and five or six of the vultures leapt into action and flew towards the eagerly awaited carrion.

There was a frenetic energy between the pair, and they giggled childishly as they snuck glances at one another. It felt as though they were doing something very naughty as they cantered through the airport, darting around people and bags in their way. Peter didn’t know where they were heading but he was having a lot of fun going there. Climbing the stairs they passed lots of shops selling lots of things far more expensively than in the outside world and Effie led him down a small corridor to a lift and pressed the up button.

“Where does this lead then?” Peter asked as they stepped inside and the lift doors closed behind them.

“All adventures involve a certain degree of challenge to overcome” she replied cryptically. This, should you choose to accept it, is your first test.” The lift stopped and clicked into place. The doors opened onto another corridor with dark walls which ended in a welcome desk attended by a tall, thin man in an immaculately pressed dark suit, with slicked back hair and an uncompromising expression. “I’ll get you in then you get me in.” Effie winked at him then strode confidently out of the lift.

Behind the desk was a small sign marked ‘Members Lounge’ and to a perennial economy class flier like Peter this stern gentleman behind it seemed more like Cerberus guarding the gates of Hades. Sneaking into an airport lounge may not have been the thrilling subject of crime novels, but to a man who had spent seven years in school terrified of the prospect of a single detention, such minor misdemeanours loomed large. His pulse began to quicken but spurred on by the gall of his new companion and not wanting to back down at the very first challenge, he followed Effie along the corridor, feigning belonging.

Suddenly, Effie’s feet seemed to tangle up and she collapsed dramatically, arms flailing in the air. Peter immediately leapt forward to help. “Effie are you okay?” He gasped in a panic as he knelt down and grabbed her shoulders.

Her eyes shut tight, she whispered through pursed lips “go man, go!” Peter let out a sort of panicked laugh as he realised this was all a ruse and jumped up to his feet again. The two customers queuing for the lounge were hurrying back down the corridor now to offer help, quickly followed by the desk attendant who glided down the corridor like a ghoul, clearly horrified at the slightest lack of decorum in his presence. Waiting for the three to gather around Effie, Peter easily crept up the corridor and circled the desk into the first class lounge.

From around the corner he could hear Effie apologising profusely, saying she had no idea what came over her but that she was now quite all right. The attendant shuffled back over to his desk and continued processing the two customers. Effie must have joined the queue behind them and it was moving fast, not leaving Peter with much time to figure out how to get her in. The attendant seemed very prickly, someone who would hate the idea of any commotion on his watch.

As the two guests passed him into the lounge and Effie reached the front of the queue Peter hurried to the desk instinctively and tapped the man on the shoulder. “Sorry to bother Julius,” said Peter, reading the badge on the man’s lapel, “a rather drunk gentleman by the bar causing a bit of a ruckus, had one too many glasses of red.”

Controlled rage bubbling behind Julius’ eyes he turned to Effie and said through tightly pursed lips “One moment miss” before slinking down the corridor to reprimand the imaginary drunk.

“Inspired approach” Effie applauded, “and in the nick of time too.”

“Shall we then milady?” Peter offered her his arm which she gladly took, and feeling very pleased with themselves they sidled into the lounge. After ducking behind the coffee bar to avoid Julius stalking back towards his desk looking as furious as ever, they were free to survey their newfound domain.

“Well, this beats the regular lounge,” Peter whistled with appreciation, eyeing up the plush leather sofas and armchairs and thinking he might have to flop down into one.

“Yeah it really does. Look!” Effie exclaimed as she ran in the other direction. Peter jogged to catch up, and found her with hands pressed against the glass of a floor to ceiling window stretching one complete wall of the grand room. She was so close she was fogging the glass with every breath.  The window offered an unparalleled view of the runways, with brightly coloured planes landing and taking off and taxiing around. Effie sighed with wonder. “It’s incredible.”

“Truly a marvel of engineering.” Peter agreed.

“No it’s not that, you’re not seeing what I see.” She couldn’t take her eyes away to look at him. “What we’re seeing is adventure.”

Effie continued to gaze in awe at every plane as it gathered speed, rumbling along the runway until finally it took flight and disappeared into the clouds. Peter smiled broadly and thought about the joy and excitement this delightful woman with the mystifying eyes had brought to his afternoon. He turned around and found a vase of flowers from which he pulled a single lily and shook the water off. He tapped Effie on the shoulder and she turned around, looking as happy as anyone can be. Handing her the flower he said:

“A pair of strangers

With one crazy afternoon

Can become true friends.”

She beamed at him, and letting the expression of his gratefulness pass without words, he joined his new friend by the window to watch the adventure before their eyes.