In our age, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.
-Dag Hammarskjold
Mister Chu, flying through Atlanta
remembers the last time he was there.
It was many years ago, but even then a complex airport
filled that evening with thousands of people.
Ants without a common purpose
beyond the transportation of themselves by others.
In a bathroom designated for the use of men only
Mister Chu had splashed water onto his tired face
washed his hands as one is supposed to.
Behind him was a corner stall
an enclosure of grey chipboard partitions
poorly designed (as to privacy)
and constructed (as to construction).
A soldier (or a man dressed very accurately
in the style of a soldier)
was obviously inside, not alone
but perhaps about to be lonely
and thus his companion,
a woman.