maddy goes to mardi gras

maddy likes to play a game

watching fellow passengers

at the airport. try to guess

at who they are: student,

businessman, daughter

flying back home to a wedding

or a funeral. computer nerd,

mid-management zombie,

single mom who should know

better than to wear that

tacky outfit. and her sloppy

daughter, the two of them

look like sausages stuffed

into pants and tops

at least two sizes too small.

"spooning leads to forking?"

and i bet they got all those

beads in some filthy doorway

jesus! they must be headed back

to the single wide out in the swamp…..

that guy in the linen blazer and jeans,

those shoes look italian and he's

reading…….gravity's rainbow,

kind of cute, wonder what seat 

he's in, hope it's 23B.........

oh shit, that dark middle eastern

looking dude is staring

and muttering something,

asking allah for success

for his plot to commandeer

the plane and crash it

into disneyworld? counting virgins?

don't look at me guy, i'm not

a virgin, at least not technically.

maybe mr gravity's rainbow

will be the lucky one.....oh yes.

ibrahim sees the woman

in the row of seats across

from him staring at him.

oh god, the merciful,

please don't let her seat

be next to mine. she was

right in front of me at

the security checkpoint

and her perfume was

overwhelming. if i have

to sit next to her for

three hours, my allergies

are going to kill me.