PASSENGER WONG
Last courtesy call for Passenger Wong,
his flight to Denver boarding, boarded,
gate about to close, oh Wong
where are you?
And then he appears in a rush at last,
winded, burdened with carry-ons,
a young man whose sneakers are very white.
The courtesy-caller bars his way.
“But I can make it,” Wong declares,
seeing his plane within easy reach.
He’s sent back to the terminal,
and oh the smirk on the gate-closer’s face!
None of us answered Wong’s parting question,
none of the processed, on time, waiting:
“Do I have to buy another ticket?”
No, no, dear Wong, we’re not that vindictive —
I’ll speak for us all, uncommiserate then,
who watched you turned away from Denver.
From all of us there in that silent room,
we are sorry, Passenger Wong.
31