by Iris Herriot

“Japanese airline serves £390 in-flight meals on parked planes”
—The Guardian

Flightless so long, what joy to feel again
The thrill delivered only by a plane!
Forget the engine’s hum, the lifted wheels:
The real delight of flying is the meals.
So now, let’s welcome with nostalgic praise
The reappearance of those plastic trays,
And all the lordly cates upon them spread:
The pasta glue, the icy lumps of bread;
And hail the prospect innovated thus:
Cold coffee on an out-of-service bus;
A curly sandwich on a static train;
Or—less in cost but equally urbane—
Let’s seize the chance of putting out a thumb
And standing by the roadside, chewing gum.