In this piece, Dove connects waiting to a state of calmness. She sets the scene of an airport, identifying various individuals who have assembled together to board a flight. An athlete, exhausted mom and the business executive may come from different walks, but she brilliantly links everyone together at the end. For this short moment, this is a unified community a part of Flight 828 boarding at Gate 17.

The airport is a perfect metaphor for emphasizing the benefits of patience. While there, the only objective is to board the flight. Following check-in, security, etc., there’s not much else to do but wait. In that moment, it’s the perfect exercise to release past anxieties one had about traveling and focus on serenity without interruption.

If there’s anything these aforementioned poems reveal, it's that Rita Dove’s diverse voice shines through her work. The 68-year-old’s ability to use professional and personal incidents to draw attention to the Black experience in America is just one of several reasons why her name is attached to some of the highest literary accolades in the nation. Her capability to use other disciplines in her work – art, music, dance, etc. – only reiterates that when serious inspiration is there, the end result is timeless.

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