Airport Birthday

 1 [~2006]

My name is a love Christian Billy Munday

He waited by the wall.

The buried soldiers risen from the graves came up through the floor and had nothing much to say.

Billy Munday sacrificed his younger sister to have a turtle action figure doll.

All over the gray place the sound of busy people and moving machinery happened.

Billy Had Had Two Birthdays With Out His Father(Jim) Since He was Five, and Three Before That.

This One Would Have Been the Third after Age Five and The Second In a Row.

But Very Special Arrangements were Made By His Mother Father And The Very Nice People Working At the Airport.

When I pictured it, I saw green walls and fantasy painted charters like from alice and wonderland that mommy read me last week (Two Weeks Ago and A Day)

The fire extinguisher red makes me reminded of the happy fire man in the dream(Fantasy) He was fast and jumpy…

(Didn’t Make much Sense Even For A Seven Year Old.)

Colelius Eusthanasian stands in the runway being peaceful watching the window into the party, His Ghost Eyes See More Than I can Describe.

The Planes Don’t Worry About His Body Because It is not There And The Air Plane Will Not Kill Him Be Cause They Go Through Him.

Cole sits on a step near the metal wall of a 100 feet building like a curb.

His Ghost Brain Thinks Of A Girl of Euthanasia, Whining in The Woods.

Her blown Bronde Hair Seems Of Sounds And The Smell Look Of Trees Thin And Wood Coloured Grey and Living Yellow.

The flesh was wet.

I skinned the skidded words on the Highway of my mind. He thought of The road in movies to California.

The Skin Peeled off On the Roadway.

In His heart the Burning Road Red Like In Billy’s Mind The Character Of Red Hot Mad man Bouncing in the dream.

He looked at the wall in boredom,

Was there nothing more I could do for Him?

“What did ya wish for Bill?”

He was slow to answer, “Uhhmm, I’ms wasn’t spose to tell, was I?”

I felt useless and Arbitrary in his life and My Own For that Matter.

I forced the stupid Must-Need-To, “Ha, You got it boy!”

The sky outside seemed red over the dark and grey and menacing.

I had to get out.

… In a pause and moment of desperation, “emm, Well, I hope it comes True”

Being Myself, “But Don’t Forget to Go after It With All Your Best Efforts”

I was Proud…

“I gotta go son,” making my way over the purple blue grey carpet and dead civil war souls in the dirt far under(~100 feet) I kissed his forehead sweet and warm, going through the motions.

His mother was just coming back into the room, “Leaving?” some what scared, exasperated. Her face passing my eyes, Yeah.

Stopped me pulled me in soft cloth sweet smell. Bye, Have a safe trip, All right Bye.

The Gate looked far away, and lonely.

2 [~2015]

It was Billy Munday’s seventh birthday. His mother drove him and four other children in his class to the airport just after one in the afternoon. It was a rather calm fall day in South Carolina; the sky was a shifting array of gray colours. The mother and children got out of the SUV, formed a pack, and walked to a room near gate 11. An airport staff member received them and helped Billy’s mother seat the children in generic, plastic and metal, dark gray chairs around a generic, plastic and metal, light gray table. Billy’s guests joked around about some childish things. They gawked out the two walls of windows and were amazed by the planes taxiing.

One hundred forty years earlier, during America’s civil war, a now-forgotten battle was fought below the spot where Billy’s seventh birthday party would be held. Some of the fallen soldiers were buried there. Secretly, they held a presence in the dirt, barely felt at the party, because there was a lot built on top: concrete, rebar, long, wide floors and walls and ceilings, insulation, plaster, and purple blue carpet; all between the bones and Billy. One particularly restless soul had the name of Cole. He died at the age of 19. Cole had one perfect memory. He had been with his only love, Iswa. She spun and pranced between birch trees, gleefully giggling. She wore a loose, weathered, nightgown-like white dress, which seemed to be made to cover her loving skin every day of its and her existence. She had straw yellow hair that floated as she moved; the birches’ bark was a dull white, but where it was broken, it revealed a pale green flesh, then, deeper, a glistening, translucent, striated blond. Verdant grass flowed below them, and above the sparkling leaves was an ocean of radiant, cloud-filled, impenetrable sunlight. Back in the present day, life seemed to be a chaos of infinite distraction, huge jets rolling smoothly, connecting to bridges, and roaring mercilessly.

Billy was underwhelmed by the scene at his party. In his wild excitement, he hoped his party would be like his recent fantasies that were sparked by and involved characters from Alice in Wonderland and a fire department demonstration at his school. He imagined walls of jungle where insane, short men jumped around wearing bright red hats. He mostly kept quiet, looked at the fire extinguisher on the wall, and waited. Billy’s father was rushing to make the party before catching another flight. His wife just finished arranging the presents and cake and setting the children’s places at the table, when he came to the door. He hugged Billy quickly, then stood next to the mother. She lit the candles and switched off the lights.. a quiet, dim moment of peace. Singing children and laughter...
As the kids ate the store-bought, heavily iced chocolate cake, Billy opened his presents with tiredly forced enthusiasm, looking back at his father each time after thanking the gift giver. Neither knew what kind of face to make when making eye contact, but they settled into a complacent, sympathetic gaze when Billy looked at his father for a longer moment, after opening the last present, paid for with his father's money, but picked out, purchased, and wrapped by his mother.

The mother gathered all the trash and, noticing there was not a bin, set out to ask someone for one. No one at the party could imagine all the imaginations of the people coming and going from that place or all places they had been and were going to be.
“What did ya wish for, Bill?” the father asked.
“I dunno. I'm not aspose ta tell, right?” Billy slowly answered.
“Ha, yeah, yeah, you got it!” his father forced out, then he had a worried look. “Well… I hope it comes true,” then quickly adding, “but be sure to go after if [and it] with all your best efforts.” He looked distant but satisfied. He ruffled Billy’s hair then kissed his head, smelling his salty skin. He quietly remarked that he had to go.
“Mmkay,” Billy said. The other children were busy with cake, utensils and presents. With his hand on his son’s head, the father stared at a wall, breathing still, and almost thought of crying. He turned and grabbed his luggage. His wife came in with a surprised and exhausted expression.
“Leaving?” she asked.
“Yeah.” They hugged, and he relished her blouse’s soft collar and laundered smell. The atmosphere became almost foreboding. He pointed himself toward his gate. The queue of passengers looked like a relief, a destination, a lonely little planet where he needed to be.