Travel Companions Poem by Ruta Mohapatra

A journey without books? Unthinkable!
She stood in front of the rows of books
Backpack and sling bag in place
Scanning the titles; fiction, non-fiction,
Novels, thrillers, self-help, mythology,
Difficult to decide in an airport bookstore

She picked up two and went for boarding
Signing and putting the date of purchase
And then settling down under the overhead lamp
As the miles flew under the plane
And the engine softly purred
Oceans of soft clouds glowed in the sun

Within those pages were captured
The thoughts of another mind
His perception of life, his solutions
For all of life's problems
The wisdom of ages plus his own experience
The words slowly sank into her brain

How deeply have we all searched
For the meaning of our life
The reason for our existence
As we tread the beaten path
From birth to death
And make a sense of the journey…

The outside grew dark as the sun sank
The seat belt sign came alive
The plane started its descent
Marking the end of the journey
The book half-read
To be taken up in another journey

The library at her home slowly expanded…