Last week, I had a moment in time that was simply word-worthy. ‘Tis the hazard of being
Commute
Morning
Earlier than normal
Late
But early
A checklist, everything needed for a day’s work
I sweltered…morning hot
After hot shower hot, sweat running down my back hot
The garage, in a commuter car,
Below 20-degree air refreshingly cool
Engine started
Sped from home, a slight skid at many a snowy turn
South of the airport still,
Gate open and waiting on the straggler…me
Whipping in, wheels lost traction,
Recovery
Car slid into an empty slot amidst the pilot’s
Coat, scarf, gloves, hot coffee, and, computer bag, I entered
Without time for pause, onto the slippery runway
Toward the double prop plane
Other passengers, none
The choice of seat, mine
Tan bucket chair over the wing I listened to the briefing,
“Exits there and there. Any questions.”
Props hummed, runway lights passed
Dark without
Dark within
Save each window’s yellow ambient glow
Blue outside, harsh on snowbanks, scraping eyes
The seat beneath me thrummed
The plane turned
Behindme pilots murmured wordlessly
Props sped
As the plane lurched, I, facing the rear, pressed forward in my seat
The plane, and I inside, lifted, all things paused
Constant hum became white
Breath halted
Ground fell away
Lights in the distance—Christmas strands wrapping the blackness
Lakes invisible to the eye when feet planted
Now punctuated the land,
Voids in the waking city
Outside and below,
Toward a brightly illuminated heart,
Tiny sparks of light multiplied
Flowed like blood feeding the vital organ
Across I flew,alone with interior darkness,
Breathless and devoid of conversation,
Clear of mind
Like the cool dark and watching sky above
A track on pause while life flowed beneath
I, somewhere in between…
The moment sank, jostled,
pressed me back toward the pilot
Propellers’ song took on a lower note
Stopped, breath came again
The door opened
A wintery rush