Forgive me, but could I be impertinent and ask you a
personal favour? I imagine that your mother must
have warned you when you were a girl growing
up not to talk to men who are strangers to you,
but I swear I wouldn’t have approached
you in this direct manner if I didn’t need to.
My problem is that I’m petrified of flying,
and since there’s no other practical way
of getting to Barbados except than
by flying there you can see
the predicament that
I’m currently in.
Colleagues and even friends of mine have told
me I should take a couple of strong alcoholic
drinks before take-off and that would calm
my nerves, but I’m a teetotaller, have
been all my life, and don’t know
which is worst: the fear of flying or
the after effects of consuming
alcoholic beverages that
I’m obviously not
accustomed to.
So will you be a pal, and as our seats are next
to each other, I wasn’t eavesdropping but
overheard your conversation with
the check-in clerk, let me hold on to you for
reassurance during take-off and until the
aircraft is safely in the air and the pilot
has charted its course successfully,
allowing me the opportunity to
chart mine with you?
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem