Now Boarding - Nicholas Ryan Kelly, performed by Da Camera Singers Edmonton

Now Boarding, composed by Nicholas Ryan Kelly
Performed by Da Camera Singers Edmonton, Laura Hawley, Artistic Director,
Kim Cousineau, pianist
Corey Haberstock, Classical Acoustic Engineer
http://dacamerasingers.ca
March, 2024

Score: https://musicspoke.com/composer/nicho...

Text: James Iwasuk (Penticton, BC; 1949-2023)

“First Call. Now Boarding.”
Names spill out like a milk run,
of whistle stops,
serving hot coffee,
across a well worn,
torn tattered road map.

A dormitory of numbered lockers,
house packed suitcase lives,
secured for 24 hours.
Ticket wickets
selling d“Dream lLotteries,”
booking passage on…
It’s going to be better“It’s Going To Be Better!”
Red eye hasty departures,
unannounced arrivals,
kind couches creased
with overstayed welcome,
A one-way ticket destination.

“Last call!. Final call, now boarding!.”
At the starting gate,
Bus bays of diesel engines revving,
like panting beasts
their bellies baggage bulged;
excited silver.

Intimate conversations
seek lonely companions,
to tell their life story.
Strangers sweaty silently sit
Seated, reserved, weary…
praying for a place
to stretch out their feet
and sleep, and sleep, and sleep;
as Greyhounds race full out,
bounding through the passing night,
[down Coquihalla, Yellowhead, Trans Canada tracks.]
Psst!
Air brakes releasing,
Like running out of breath.
Psst!