Obediah Michael Smith The Bahamas
At
the Airport in Romania
scissors, knife and lotion
that I cherish and I had
to give them up
to be thrown in the trash
and it was that lotion
that my wife loved,
purchased in Pick n Pay,
in Botswana, in Francistown
lotion by Johnson & Johnson
with coco butter and with
what pleasant fragrance
thought several times
to give what of it was left to her
before leaving Mbalizi,
in Mbeya, Tanzania
never did get to do that and
here at the airport, leaving Romania,
having left it in my carry-on bag,
instead of transferring it
to one of my two suitcases
and it is disallowed/it is not allowed
and into the garbage
that pretty perfume
last three or four visits
when she was leaving,
after she had showered,
she lotioned herself all over with it
her feet, her face,
covered herself nearly completely
how many times could she
have lotioned herself-
massaged herself completely
with what was left, I wonder
that precious cream,
gone down the drain
what could I say about my sharp,
serrated-edge, cutting knife
and my so very handy scissors
with its handle of blue plastic
but that they add to the pain,
the blow, the loss
must I/should I blame
the terrorists, should I
blame terrorism
for these rules now
in place in these airports
what harm could I have done
with what was left of
that bottle of lotion
or would I have done
with my knife and that scissors
it is with these ballpoint pens,
not considered harmful at all,
that I hold the whole world hostage
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2018
9:45 PM Tuesday 22.7.18