Flying - The Nerve of Us!

Drawn to the small airport
out on the edge of town,
I pull into its parking lot
and watch as a single engine plane
taxies out and turns for take off.
I ponder on what led to this moment in time,
seeing man thumbing his nose
one more time at gravity,
taking himself into thin air
as might the Flying Nun or Mary Poppins.

And, what of that bucket of bolts and fabric
aviation has assembled to allow stepping
from one cloud to another above land below,
where others accept, "flying up there" a given right
one that has always been possible,
so what's the big deal, they would ask,
while a miracle takes place.
I watch in true awe
as the well built airplane,
plus high speed and know how;
lifts a human bring majestically
from his millions of years
in earthbound envy of birds.

Gaining altitude, I imagine the pilot doing his math, checking instruments,
making sure the flight is smooth and enjoyable;
those things to make possible
his flying carpet will find the runway for a safe return to the ground.
There, things wait with family and work,
highlighted soon by a cross country trek to
the air show in Phoenix.
As wheels touch grass and tail drops slowly
he chuckles that its location
has such an appropriate name.


F William Broome 2006-09