Disruption

Imagine you’re a traveler
About to board a plane.
You’re told you cannot fly
Because of some volcanic rain.

You’ve finished your vacation,
Or maybe it’s just starting,
Yet you are stranded and you hear
No planes will be departing.

You’re sitting in an airport,
Uncomfortable and bored.
You cannot grumble, grouse or gripe
‘Cause you’ll just be ignored.

The plans you’ve made so carefully
Have all gone up in smoke.
It’s like a nightmare that came true
As soon as you awoke.

People can’t return to work;
Lives are put on hold.
Disappointment won’t allow
Some folks to be consoled.

I can’t imagine being stuck
Without an end in sight.
I empathize but cannot picture
Sharing in their plight.

When Mother Nature does her thing,
It’s useless to complain.
We’re merely pawns appearing briefly
On her vast terrain.

So we must sit and bide our time
And acclimate to waiting,
Even though the situation’s
Endlessly frustrating.

We worry every time we fly:
Think terrorists or crashes;
But who would think we’d have to fret
About volcanic ashes?