Phoenicians from Arizona and Lebanon gather
at the portals slated with their corresponding letter
Some toting shoulder bags big enough to lopside
tired torsos leaning against the thick air
of anticipation
reverberating with the murmured
gossip of the queuing passengers in attempt
to dissipate their uneasiness
Protein acquisition is on the mind of previously
infamous foodies who have abandoned their
social media feeds in search of survival
frantically attempting to embed the grip
and yield of naturally occurring meats
and legumes on their teeth before
their feet lift off into zero-gravity
Deep space a familiar concept
in the logical mind but resurfaces
fears instilled by moving images
from previous decades
Technically everyone has been trained
about expectations from this
their last flight from the touchstone
of home for the new one whose air
has never brushed its strange touch
against their goosebumped skin
or the hairs in their nostrils
to associate living breath
with the chemical makeup
of an unfamiliar atmosphere
Water will be rationed
just in case
whose parameters no one explained
to anyone’s satisfaction
“Have faith” is ingrained
through repeated assurances
now called upon
by fingers rubbing nervously
religious pendants hanging
from stiff necks cranked to peek
into an uncertain future

By Imogen Arate
Imogen Arate is an award-winning Asian-American poet and writer and the Executive Producer and Host of Poets and Muses, an award-winning weekly poetry podcast. She has written in four languages and published in two. Her work most recently appeared in The New Verse News.