Nathaniel Kostar
MOVE
American Airlines Flight, May 19th, 2020
The plane back to Mexico was full of workers,
young men with tanned skin and baseball caps,
worn backpacks slung over their shoulders,
leaving.
American Airlines chose money on this flight,
and now the stewardess, who didn’t speak Spanish,
was nervous and afraid.
There were no middle seats, as promised,
but the workers didn’t complain.
This wasn’t the first promise
America had broken.
I sat next to a Chinese girl who was
dressed like an astronaut.
She wore everything except
the helmet.
I think she was returning from an important
mission since she carried a manila folder
and seemed satisfied.
She stole my arm rest
and fell asleep.
I guess we were all on a mission
on this flight—
but she was prepared.
And so were they, I thought,
as I looked across the aisle
at the old couple, los viejitos,
as they remained composed,
fiercely holding hands,
even as the flight-attendant
barked at them in English:
“You’re in the wrong seat.
You must move. You must
move. Move. You must.
Move…Move.”
—Submitted on 06/10/2020
Nathaniel Kostar was born and raised in Central New Jersey. He holds a BA from Rutgers University and an MFA in poetry from the University of New Orleans. He lives in Mexico City where he works as a writer, lyricist and English teacher. For more info visit NateLost.com or follow Nate Lost on Spotify.
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