Heart To Pilot

Heart To Pilot

I saw you in the heavens;
a shining jet,
so proud, serene
yet cynical,
mocking small shapes below.
With your avoidance,
you avert amorous traffic;
glide the sky
by your radar.

Then I saw you
in a hangar, refueling,
as if waiting for me
reluctantly.
I made my approach,
a diversion
from my flight plan.
I invoke your smile
and recall the impression --
radiance, air,
but out of reach.

You rose;
separated from gravity
and the earthly forces
that sought
to shut your engines down --
fighter pilots
gunning for your eyes
were so observant
when you were young.

Before departing,
I saw you and smiled again.
Clouds were in my eyes;
birds in my fuselage.
I wanted to fly
higher, prouder.
My engines choked,
though I flew.

Deflecting charm;
resistance, experience,
the thought of our sojourn
dreamily rose and fell.
I lacked the heart to pilot,
for fear I would provoke
another deathly disaster.

I saw you
in a dream,
in a tail spin,
smoke from your belly --
fire ruining good engines.
The parachute, the fall,
screaming metal bones crashing --
all the pieces
on the ground
now cold.

Somehow
they pieced you together;
your appearance stronger,
more resilient.
My masculine compulsion
yearns to soothe
the ruffled armor --
the weather beaten wings.
But on closer inspection;
found you perfectly warm,
a motor timing in tune.

I saw you taxi
down the runway today;
a riveted frame,
effortless and wise,
steadily climbing still air.
Not a sound --
a smooth sailing craft
in mid-flight rhapsody.

Dangling over the world
aloof and alone;
taunting all creation
to justifiably compare,
your belly hung
smooth and shimmery sleek,
caressed by the wind
your propulsion made
before disappearing
in a rain cloud.

For Ruth, who taught me the meaning of facetious...

Life has taught us that love does not consist of gazing at each other,
but in looking outward together in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupery