Scenario for Intercontinental Travel
Remembering flying in the last row
of the non-smoking section all the way
to Tokyo which made the next flight
pure heaven with not even the slightest
hint of pollution beyond the stink of
the one cooked meal that you would get
on a seven hour flight to Singapore
the soles of your feet sweating in the cheap
Chelsea boots that you bought specifically
for flying in easy to take off and put back
on again but you realize now that this
makes no sense that smoke-free flights
were the norm long before the attacks
of 9/11 made shoe removal a mandatory
part of airline security theater even
on Air Libya or whatever two-bit carrier
you are incorrectly remembering as being
the center of a confused and confusing
sequence of events and you’re eating
a packet of sunflower seeds as an alternative
to the stale pretzels that in the modern day
are regarded as breakfast as you decide
to forget all about that horror show
and focus on the sound of music creeping
out of your neighbors headphones a soft
and innocuous flavor of jazz that will
surely help you sleep and you dream
about the flowers that you will buy for your
lover when you arrive on the cold white
evening before an obligatory full moon.
Paul Ilechko
Paul Ilechko is a British American poet and occasional songwriter who lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bennington Review, Bear Review, Atlanta Review, Permafrost, and Free State Review. His book “Fragmentation and Volta” was published in 2025 by Gnashing Teeth Publishing. He reads for Marrow Magazine.