route map

route map

the four-gate airport in New Haven
(travel-sized, my friend Mandy says)
announced new routes to five cities
and it made me wonder how many
new connections I have made lately
or what it means to be an airport

even if it is only metaphorically
a place of connection with lines
arcing across the map to show all
the people who offer landing space
in this beautiful temporary where
we measure distance and approach

the routes are paths of forgiveness
murmurations of friendships that
fill our world map with a picture
of what it means to be a part of
this quilt of curiosity and belonging
everything from sand to stardust

I am holding a picture of the last time
we saw each other and our embrace
as you prepared to board your flight
the hug lets us hold what we wanted
to keep while we are not together
a souvenir of absence and memory

travel and travail share a history
both words are rooted in suffering
until the former took off on a journey
to route to each other is a labor of love
whether I am the host or the guest at
the gate walking toward one I love

Peace,
Milton