Earthbound

My parents worked with aeronauts;
They peregrinated everywhere,
And took me with them east and west
On flights across this continent,
Across the seas to distant lands,
Through curtains made of iron mesh,
Past borders marked with weathered cairns.
A heady time, especially
Since they, though lower middle-class,
Had privilege, had access to
Aristo-ticket level perks.
Those days are over; as for now,
There's something wearying about
Long-distance travel--I can't take it.
When I think of crowds, I cringe.
The thought of hours strapped and trapped
In knee-knock coach distresses me,
And minor hiccups I abided
In the spryness of my youth
Derail me in my elder age.
Adventures in a foreign clime
No longer sing their siren songs;
My joints can't tolerate the strain
Of mountain treks, and I have qualms
About the waste we generate
In going, doing, and coming home.
Still, whenever I hear a pack
Of friends or coffeeklatching folk
Discuss their plans
To scale an Alp, or cruise the Rhine,
Or dare the Amazonian depths,
I feel a pang of wanderlust,
A restlessness that will not fade.