Transshipping

After 6 months, of preparation for today’s delivery,
Trips to Florida, Hong Kong and Taiwan,
Today was “the day”.

They had our money,
Our order was confirmed,
Production and shipping, 5 weeks

Confirmation of the ships arrival on Monday
Meant we could run ads
Knowing the merchandise would get to the stores today.

We arrived at the warehouse early,
Filled with fear of 100 potential catastrophes.
“Would the product meet expectations?”,
“Were the parts balanced?” “Were the motors
Equal to the samples?”
Frantic, I picked up an incoming call.
It was our freight agent. “Your container is not on the ship.”

“What, What did you say?”
Bellowing, I tried vainly to reach through the phone.
“How can you lose one container crossing the Pacific.?”
“But, it isn’t lost,” the piece of shit at the other end of the conversation said.
“It’s in Korea”. “Of course, what could make greater sense.”
“They mistook Seoul for Oakland, a common occurrence”, I thought.

Maybe my concerns were unnecessary?
No need to fret balance or motor quality.
We would simply tell customers
To pick up the goods in Korea.

We could provide directions to those docks,
Almost adjacent to Oakland.
Perhaps the goods weren’t needed ‘til summer,
A mere 3 months from now.

I mark that day. It was an education.
Here I thought “No transshipping” were terms.
It turned out it is was merely a suggestion.

Now, this years later,
It is evident I survived
But occasionally, when I pass a container depot,
I get a wee bit shaky and think of 116 unhappy customers.