The flight is full. I fill my soul
with comfort of humanity.
Some smiles are used to sell things,
but the ones caught here,
in the lines, the waiting,
the shifting into place —
these are free,
they sparkle three dimensions,
they reach deep

We can be herded and jostled,
scanned and screened and patted down,
but when we can smile to each other,
we keep our liberty.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 29, 2019