Overweight

A jaunty saunter,

And saucy swagger

Up to the checkout desk

Belies nagging doubt

About what the scales will read

Under the weight of all my baggage.

It really wasn’t my fault.

You see,

What had happened was

I had so many important things to bring along:

My knowledge for starters,

Such wealth as I possess,

Then there was pride and self confidence

(Packed a little extra in my carry-on too),

Oh, and there are those residual hurts

Mementos from obscure episodes in my past,

Of course, I had to make space for complacency and doubt,

My talent, my ingenuity,

Self pity, helpless feelings and anxieties-

No way I could leave those behind!

So I bussed it,

Hoofed it,

Hobbled and taxied

All the way here

And now my bags are starting to tell:

There are some broken straps and handles,

Not to mention a couple of busted zippers

But dammit I made it!

But passing through

the million and one security checks along the way,

(Damn those bloody terrorists!)

I find I’m forced to sort through my affairs

And leave little odds and ends behind:

A mask here,

A worn out excuse there,

Old padding and protections,

Scarves and coats I’d taken as a precaution

But most likely won’t need at my destination.

Still,

Even after all these checks

My bags are still so loaded

I can barely drag them along.

I fear that between check-in

And the remaining security stations,

I’ll have no choice

But to cast more and more stuff aside,

So that by the time I reach the gate for boarding

They’ll have me stripped down to nothing

But the bare essentials

Cause this airline don’t give you no allowance for overweight.