"Conversation" by John Peter Beck
Photo Credit: Sigmund, obtained and licensed through Unsplash
Conversation
Both on page 114 at 27,000 feet,
they crossword separately.
Five letters, “Attack.”
The couple bound for Philly
pursue the same puzzle alone,
his and her magazines on
his and her tray tables.
Three letters starting with “g,” “Earth (prefix).”
Can they be racing
toward a conclusion, angling
to claim the hardest words, the most?
Three letters, “Tyrannosaurus ___.”
Guarding their pages
like high school math tests,
they maintain the silence.
Four letters, “A house in Madrid.”
Giving up
simultaneously,
they nap.
Twelve letters ending in “ion,” “Talking.”
John Peter Beck is a professor in the Labor Education program at Michigan State University where he co-directs an effort that explores the intersection of culture and work, Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives. His poetry has been published by The Louisville Review, The Seattle Review, Another Chicago Magazine, and Passages North, among others.