Sailing Around The World In My Chair

 By John I. Blair

Slumping here in my swivel chair,
Back aching from hours of inertia,
I can sail my mind around the world
On the stuff at my fingertips.
Lots from China: baskets, tools,
My coffee cup; from India
A richly carved wooden box
I hide my pushpins in;
From Germany a precise alarm
I use to schedule noon-hour naps;
Japan my PC CPU;
Sweden my sturdy stapler;
France a Bic with tinte bleu;
Australia a jar of stomach pills;
West Africa the cacao in the cocoa;
Banana from Honduras;
Bright Post-it flags from Mexico . . .
All tangible reminders
That this evidently isolated room
Is anchored in the universe outside.

©2003 John I. Blair

Author Note:

The photo shows the room I am talking about in this poem from
years ago when I still worked at corporate headquarters in Irving.
Back when computers had white keyboards and I used a white mouse.
Note that I have several poems posted on my wall,
perhaps even including this one.
Note the wall phone with a cord.
But I'm sure it had pushbuttons and not a dial.
The brilliant poet Billy Collins wrote a poem
"Sailing Alone Around the Room"
that inspired me to try this

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