Henry, two weeks ago, visited his future alma mater, George Washington University. The flight back to the desert was . . . tumultuous and trying. He was inspired to compose his own Odyssey.
In memory of my 15-hour flight from DC to Palm Springs (or DC to Chicago to Phoenix to Palm Springs), I wrote this parody of Homer’s Odyssey about my trip. I call my new poem “Henryssey,” and I hope men will cry and women will sigh.–Henry Huang
Henryssey
Tell me, O Colombia, of that oriental hero who travelled far and wide after he had visited the famous town of Washington D.C. Many airports did he fly by, and many were the airports with whose terminals and gates he knew not about; moreover, he suffered much by bad seats and whining kids while trying to fly comfortably and bring himself safely home in one piece; but do what he might he could not conquer the tiredness, for he suffered through his own sheer folly in sitting next to an 18-month-old baby, so his brain prevented him from ever taking a nap. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughters of Zeus, from whatsoever source you may know them.
So now all who enjoyed adventure in George Washington University and Smithsonian Museums had got safely home except Henry, and he, though he was longing to return to his sweet bed and windy desert, was detained by the American Airlines, who had got him into Chicago and Washington Reagan airport and wanted to detain him. But as hours went by, there came a time when the flights settled that he should go back to Palm Springs; even then, however, when he was on his flight, his troubles were not yet over; nevertheless all the factors had now begun to in favor of him except Mini Pretzels, who still denied him nary a peanut without a stop and would not let him have any other snack option.