PPC2Britain: Day 1 - "Touchdown @ Heathrow"

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Tk jays in new ways

Delta flows, long Boston stays

Lemonchello, engines bellow

Tales of a tongue taken

as I take flight to use mine

Discovered a starr, voice divine

London native beside

The first of many to see

A trans Atlantic arrival

Polo ‘67, Marco found me

Lessons of London’s diversity

My Teeth and cameras flash away

Brand new sites to see, maybe a play

J Cole mind, no life better than mine

Take off no jet lag, juice wrld behind

PPC show, touchdown at Heathrow

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Explanation:

{written with 6-7-8 syllable line scheme for 9 lines (63 syllables) then 9 syllable line scheme for 7 lines (63 syllables) 

The rhyme scheme of this poem is written to include 126 syllables.

These can be counted through the separation of the poem into a nine-lined and a seven-lined stanza. The primordial nine lines are written in a six-seven-eight syllable line scheme. This amounts to the first 63 syllables. The latter seven are each nine-syllable lines. These account for the final 63 syllables. These two syllabic halves combine to accomplish the 126 syllables which, if the digits are added together, amount to a value of nine. The overall syllable counts for each half do so as well.

The opening line, “TK Jays in new ways,” hearkens to this journal’s predecessor, “PPC2Paris.” I had flown on Delta airlines. 

In 2018, I traveled out of the country for the first time. I went to Italy where the drinking age was 16. My first ever drink was a shot of Lemonchello. I spotted a bottle in the Boston airport as I tapped away at my computer. //PPC Fact of the Day: you cannot drink the bottles you buy in the Boston airport until you reach your terminal to board.

I met a foreordained character adjacent to my seat on the plane. A lady native to Britain for nearly a decade told me much about her journey to her return. The attendants blessed us with blankets, pillows and headphones.

I watched “Speak No Evil” as we begun our journey. A brilliant performance by James McAvoy. I constantly pondered the production itinerary for the movie. I could not decide whether they revealed the twists and turns of the plot as the film progressed or were latent with the knowledge from its onset. Regardless, the disturbed sight of a young mouth absent of the tool to give it power was a certain jolt to the senses. 

Alas, I am blessed to never meet a fate the same as such. Rather, I would be on “flight to use mine.” 

This journey to London would be another step towards joining the many stars who utilized their proficiency with the pen to bring about prosperity. I was introduced to another star as the flight concluded.

I combed through the plane’s music selection. Arya Starr’s album, “The Year I turned 21,” caught my attention. This Nigerian goddess released her second studio album in 2024. Her sweet and divine voice elevated me as the plane descended.

I cruised through the airport. Our professors noted in the chat that we would meet at a coffee shop near the front. Our tour guide would be wearing a purple hat. A smiling face waved to me. Our tour guide’s name was Marco. Ironically, I was wearing my new Polo cologne. It was an ode to the year of Polo by Ralph Lauren’s first men’s clothing line drop in 1967. The line “Polo ‘67, Marco found me” holds to the nine syllable chorus as it is meant to be read “six seven,” rather than “sixty seven.”

I asked Marco of his upbringing. Italian, but lived in London for nearly a decade. He had visited the US and likened London to New York City. Marco divided the land into four sections; all based upon the Thames River. //Pronounce it “Tems” my auspicious audience The East, West and North sectors of London above the Thames with the South below.

The east was apparently bustling with creatives, underground artists and quirky people. Marco explained it was a typically poorer area. The Thames runs west to east. Historically, waste was carried by the natural flow of the river through ducts away from the noblemans’ abodes. 

The West carried many memorials. It hearkened to much of DC. Marco’s talk of the architecture excited me. He was a thespian. It was a part of his masters degree studies. This gave an energy to the way he described the buildings and the vast amount dedicated to the arts. 

Marco complimented my hoodie. It was a custom made J. Cole x Juice Wrld top with either name on each sleeve. I reflected and pondered Cole’s poetic words from “Love Yourz” as thoughts of my coming escapades flooded my mind. Similar to Juice Wrld’s song “Jet Lag” featuring Future, I had taken off from a plane with no jet lag.