Written by Sheila Kal
On the evening I leave for Japan, my heart begs to be empty
so I can fly untethered but my gut is bothered,
my body is chilled and my mind is bent
from calculating.
How and why will this take a full day?
The itinerary says to take off at six o’clock from Nairobi
and arrival at seven fifteen in Narita, Tokyo.
Save for the embarrassment of not locating the incredibly tiny flush
button in the even tinier lavatory, my flight is quiet and smooth.
The two seniors I’m seated between speak Spanish.
They boarded during the layover at Addis Ababa.
They’ve been asleep all through
before and right after the chicken/beef meal
that called my earlier Java one upwards.
I, on the other hand, am an insomniac.
Even through the biting cold, the little plane on screen
flies over the Red Sea and into India.
Uzo Aduba’s adventures at The Residence keep me company
and finally, as we cross further East, even though local time
in Nairobi and Bole is 3:44 a.m., I can see the red and orange
battling the shadows and winning.
My body is unbothered, my body is warm,
and my mind is in awe.
About the Writer:
Sheila is a Kenyan poet, student, thinker and graduate of the 2024 Adventures Creators Programme. This series follows her reflections on life in Japan and the transformative power of travel and exploring new cultures.
