182
Sonnets From Other Lives: Haruki

This feeling reminds him of déjà vu.
It’s the opposite though--for he is forgetting
exactly which airport he’s passing through.
He won’t find this to be at all upsetting.
When it happens he just plays it like a game
in which he looks for clues: ball caps or jerseys--
it’s cheating when some signage says the name
of the airport. So the sport’s absurd--he
plays it for the pleasure he derives
from being—for a moment—disconnected
from the fixed agenda of the frequent flyer.
The imaginary unexpected
will suffice for Haruki tonight
as he hurries to make his connecting flight.