One smile doesn’t mean I’m happy –
I’m sad without spilling a tear. I thought
everyone was down, tired of asking
why – while getting just silence in
return. Here we are all lost in
our worlds, a myriad tableaux
from which we never look out,
only in at more palatable realities,
images of love, at faces we think
we know, at war games’ killing digits,
the President’s cool tally on a screen.
There is no country here, no flag, no
dreary song to pledge our allegiance.
Whatever hue our skin
or babble we mouthe can’t disguise
that we’re all kids of Eve gently
penned into this digital snare.
She looks at me, wondering. I sense
more presence in a mannequin
brushing by, the shape comes
alive from no substance at all. Soon
we’ll be six miles high, encased in
blue sky like Air Force One, almost
untouchable, like you, Dear Maker, still
halfway round on your massive orb.
Can you ever know what you’ve done?
© copyright David Barker 2014
Ciscography 
This is really thought-provoking. And what a deep question asked in conclusion.
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There is definitely a feeling of in-between in an airport lounge.
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A very interesting poem, David, reducing the air gates to the macabre absurd dehumanized portals they have become; before 9/11 I used to love the airport, it was mystical, romantic, exotic, even dazzling. Now it has become the dystopian leaden-eyed concentration camp set of lines, guards, & desensitized drawn empty faces. Bang on, sir.
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interesting take on the prompt
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i like how you capture that certain feel on airports that lies underneath all the busy-ness going on… it’s like an in-between space – i like the part with no flag, no country esp.
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I like the idea that we are all travelers on the planet, which makes war even more senseless. Thought provoking and interesting write. I’m left with a feeling of being trapped in one of those big, glassy airport lobbies, where I can see out, but not escape.
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I like the way you focus on the airport lounge.. It’s a unique experience when traveling.. Caught between movement and not – in company of people we have two things in common with – a place we’re leaving and somewhere we’re heading.
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nice musings…
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Hi David, I love this poem, very different from your other ones I think, the way you paint that feeliing on an airport, where everything is different, just before everyone goes all around the world 🙂
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We’ve become so used to airport lounges, even bored by them, that there is no glamour, no sense of mystery – and no sense of unity either (each one wrapped up in their own gadget). A thoughtful poem about one of modern life’s most prevalent symbols…
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“Here we are all lost in our worlds, a myriad tableaux from which we never look out”…..love this line
The social environment of an airport is very intriguing to me. So many stories of life unspoken, while others are written all over faces.
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So beautifully composed and leaving me with lots of questions. Lots to ponder.
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