by amanda wallin
Member since:
August 30, 2006

Late for the Flight..

May 01, 2007 03:54 AM EDT (Updated: May 01, 2007 06:26 AM EDT)
views: 61 | comments: 37

 

Late for the flight,

Back breaking baggage in tow

Lost in a maze of surging steel

Slippery tile, swarming hordes 

 

Late for the flight,

Arms ache from hauling luggage

Stuffed with creased memories

Wrinkled weighty woe 

 

Late for the flight,

Gates seal shut

On a sweaty howl of despair

Anchored by gravity’s pull 

 

 I watch the clouds swallow freedom’s promise    

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Comments: 37

Apryl Just Apryl May 1, 2007, 4:29am EDT
Amanda, I could sense the impending panic of a possible missed flight. I love the last line!!
vijay kumar May 1, 2007, 4:30am EDT
'Luggage stuffed with creased memories'... - I am carried away by the words here. Pertinent, sharp, beautiful. The last line is mark of supreme talent.
Magnificent poem, Amanda.
William Dotani May 1, 2007, 4:42am EDT
So clear, your frustration. Love the last line, I watch the clouds swallow freedom's promise. Hopefully, you will not have any more problems at LAX.
amanda wallin May 1, 2007, 4:44am EDT
Thank you three so much. I think the UTI got to my head. Now get some sleep!!
Lawrence U. May 1, 2007, 6:21am EDT
Beautiful poem, Amanda. I love it. "I watch the clouds swallow freedom's promise" is a powerful imagery in its own right.
Miz Lynn aka/BooBoo May 1, 2007, 6:44am EDT
Ohhh Amanda, this was GREAT, perfectly wonderful. Love the last line too...
Christine P. May 1, 2007, 6:48am EDT
What a good poem. So descriptive and what you told is so true.
Amanda, my friend, leave behind:

Arms ache from hauling luggage

Stuffed with creased memories

Wrinkled weighty woe

You were meant to spread your wings and soar. You cannot do so with baggage.

Love and Light to you.
Angie O. May 1, 2007, 7:01am EDT
Wishing you many flights minus the baggage. Wonderful work Amanda.
Spencer T. May 1, 2007, 8:01am EDT
Anticipating a write of yours is liken to popping the cork on a fine bottle of wine. Knowing my senses will be overwhelmed, taste buds tingled and my whole body experiences a massive sigh. Ahhhhhh!
Ron (in complete sheeple overload) W. May 1, 2007, 9:09am EDT
I've lived this poem, and understand entirely. Good imagery, and I sympathize. Ten
Warren Keating May 1, 2007, 9:29am EDT
Wrinkled weighty woe. What a talent! Thanks for posting this.

If the opportunity is to create and be brilliant, I am sure the gates are jammed open for you now.
© MrBill   May 1, 2007, 10:43am EDT
Amanda ... great words ... recalls bad memories ... good job!

Confucius' traveler wisdom:
Leave baggage at home - check luggage at curb.
mona d. May 1, 2007, 11:08am EDT
i'm an idiot - my first read through i thought it said "fight" not "flight" - and it actually worked on some level! but flight makes more sense, and your words and phrases continue to blow me away. and that last line...a cold punch to my solar plexus.
Faith H. May 1, 2007, 11:30am EDT
amanda, this is great, a struggle for freedom that seems like dreams I've had too often. Fly, girl, fly!
David D. Gilbaugh May 1, 2007, 12:07pm EDT
Oh No! I could feel the angst las if it were static gathering about the traveler's person like lightening in a blackening cloud. "Wrinkled weighty woe " of luggage "Anchored by gravity's pull"; is an insightful metaphor of this weary traveler's lesson in life's journey. Check in the baggage of those "woe(s)" at the curb!

Outstanding!!!
Thom R. May 1, 2007, 1:35pm EDT
Just marvelous! Congratulations.
Quinn (aka Entwife) Blackburn May 1, 2007, 5:10pm EDT
So many wonderful turns of phrase and conjured images! Excellent piece here, Amanda! Bet you could sell this to a travel magazine. lol This is the best poetry about missing a plane I've ever seen! There's nothing quite like seeing your means for escape slip through your fingers lol.

..
U
Nic P. May 1, 2007, 5:14pm EDT
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Have a glorious May Day Everyone
Joe H. May 1, 2007, 5:34pm EDT
This is an excellent display of your mastery of imagery. Keep 'em coming!
Barbra L. May 1, 2007, 6:36pm EDT
Amanda:

I have read this over and over, yet I am just as amazed with each read. There is no end to your talent. We are so fortunate to have you and your splendid gift!!!

I am rendered speechless...
elizabeth e. May 1, 2007, 8:20pm EDT
Amanda.this is just a wonderful poem..it captures so many feelings of not being in control ...bogged down by responsibilities and time tables not your own.
Deb J. May 1, 2007, 8:31pm EDT
Very good Amanda! You caught the moment beautifully!
Debbie H. May 1, 2007, 8:58pm EDT
Another great poem from someone who captures the essence of longing!!! When you are not around, it just makes me appreciate your poems more:) I miss them!!!
Atticus *. May 1, 2007, 10:01pm EDT
Wonderful amanda!, and tragic, you really captured that moment of despair and fruitless struggle with such skill and flow.
amanda wallin May 1, 2007, 10:02pm EDT
Thank you all so much for stopping by and lending my work such tender insight.
Love and light~ Amanda
Priscilla P. May 1, 2007, 10:16pm EDT
Beautifully stated!!!! You captured the sinking feeling of missing the boat
Pauline G. May 2, 2007, 5:08am EDT
where you going Amanda. Please take me with you. Lets blow L.A
Edward Nudelman May 3, 2007, 9:46am EDT
great contemplative verse, Amanda. I love, "Wrinkled weighty woe," and how you end the poem by evoking an external and perhaps irresistable force. ah, wish it did not alwasy appear such. Superb
amanda wallin May 3, 2007, 10:27am EDT
Ed, you're becoming an irresistable force. :))
DragonSoul !. May 4, 2007, 12:28am EDT
Another well written verse, Amanda. Though I have never flown anywhere (I prefer road trips anyday,) for me this poem relates to all different aspects of life in anticipation and deadlines, only to be foiled by some obstacle or another at the last minute. Bravo!
Susan S. May 4, 2007, 11:18pm EDT
Last August I went to visit family in England with only a ziplock bag (critical red alert day) and all my luggage was lost. I was in England for 3 weeks with only the clothes on my back. I had to go to the doctor's to get a prescription for my pills and buy everything. So even on my journey back I only had a few items.

I never did get it back so in December I finally got a check from the airline.
Barbary Chaapel May 5, 2007, 9:22pm EDT
Amanda, your poem makes me recall traveling with my Siamese cat, Honoree, under my seat, rushing through the hub of Atlanta with her.

This is so well written with such a sense of urgency. And the last line is superb.
John F Walter May 31, 2007, 11:42am EDT
This works on both a scene building and figurative level, with a tremendous build boosted by that hypnotic refrain ¨late for the flight¨, until the ominous consequences come true. Great use of suspenseful descriptors to get across the desolation of the speaker, as well as the finality of the flight´s takeoff. One of your best structured pieces yet on this blog, Amanda!
Richard Melendez Jun 20, 2007, 7:29am EDT
Amanda... this poetry is much more than a story of travel frustrations, but it takes on a metaphoric twist by thinking of the refrain, "Late for the flight" to allude to being late to life or its many opportunities that can be lost. Insightful poetry as "we watch the clouds swallow freedom's promise." Your verse builds up thru so many levels.

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