Cast Adrift by M.J. Iuppa

Hurrying out of the lift into a line
full of people going somewhere in
single file, I walk in baby steps up
to the desk where my identity will
be held up to the light. I look in-
to that face that nods a go ahead,
then step gingerly through a door
that will detect any of my misgivings
and send me back to the start . . .

And, like so, I slip by in slow exhale,
hovering close to the conveyor belt’s
roll of bags, watching loose change
flip over & over, heads or tails (what
does it matter?) now that I’ve been
cleared for departure . . .

It’s still dark in the terminal where
the bank of windows at Gate Eleven
stand full of gray clouds and distant
lights, and the reflection of people
asleep in their chairs. I am distracted
by the suspension of time, by life’s
lack of distinction where I wait for
morning to swell with its sudden squad
of sparrows landing on the carpet, ready
to steal every stray crumb without causing
alarm—these efficient workers go about
their gleaning under chairs and boots
and from a child’s small hand . . .

This hour of travelers cast adrift
in shades of periwinkle and charcoal;
everyone’s dream picked clean.



M.J. Iuppa is the Director of the Visual and Performing Arts Minor Program and Lecturer in Creative Writing at St. John Fisher College; and since 2000 to present, is a part time lecturer in Creative Writing at The College at Brockport. Since 1986, she has been a teaching artist, working with students, K-12, in Rochester, NY, and surrounding area. Most recently, she was awarded the New York State Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching, 2017. She has four full length poetry collections, This Thirst (Kelsay Books, 2017), Small Worlds Floating (2016) as well as Within Reach (2010) both from Cherry Grove Collections; Night Traveler (Foothills Publishing, 2003); and 5 chapbooks. She lives on a small farm in Hamlin, NY.