Unzipping the small pocket
(the one like a clothing pocket)
Of the empty luggage
Sliding a tentative hand within
Hoping not to find anything
From the last trip
Or even before then
Especially nothing that decomposed
Or worse yet, something alive
An unfortunate rodent
Or unidentified colony of creepy crawlers
Alive or dead, it's something I dread
Maybe I should buy another...


NCL July 2019