Poetry from the past

By Todd Stadler · Friday, February 1, 2002 1:09am

I was digging through some old papers recently and found some haiku I had written a while back.

They were written on a piece of paper in the pleatherbound folder I use to carry around my resumes. You know, so I look professional and all.

The last time I had used this folder was my last year in college, when I was going through the job hunt that eventually brought me to Portland to work for Intel.

It was interesting to see all my thoughts from that time, expressed through poorly-drawn cartoons and meaningless scribbles made while waiting for interviews.

The haiku, however, seem to have been written while I was travelling to interview with AMD. Apparently, the company had paid for me to fly first class, which would have been a first for me at that time.

And while they offer me very little insight into how to find a job in today's economy, I still find them mildly amusing:

I'm in an airport
and yet I'm also in Hell.
"Now boarding the plane."

Oh, poor businessman,
try hanging up your cell phone
and let your mind breathe

I wish I could sleep
aboard this stupid airplane;
I'd kill for a bed.

Riding in first class
isn't really all that great.
Hey ... fancy crackers!

The flight attendants
give me special attention.
"Would you like a drink?"

The people in coach
see me eating brie, and scowl.
"But I'm one of you!"

But when the plane lands,
we all arrive at the same time.
First class — who needs it?