i.
Each one with
their headphone
kneeling on the seat
in front
pressed so close the
woman’s breath through the cushioning
stirs my knees from their position
along with everything else
living
this plane was
sung into existence
the cloud hillocks
it tears through
are made the lines
of a new song we feel from our knees
upward
what barriers they were
heart muscle or cumulous
made sinewy bands rent and scattered
in fleshly skies
ii.
Each leans into
their silent film
man and woman
making love at last
their skin lit warmly
their eyes drawn
at the corners
their weeping at their own beauty
as he plunges
so that the turbulence
shakes us
iii.
There is a barrier nested in me although I’ve left on good terms
as though these words endeared my last breath at home
to your name and that dreaded leave taking
iv.
I wrote
seven letters to say goodbye
what will I find
here
beyond this woman’s
thighs
my neighbor’s
and my own wet cheeks
brushed awkwardly back of the palm
when the attendant nears
plate-gathering
will I remember
your face
until it becomes
your eyes alone
and when
you are a bird
and I am a plane
with stiffened wings
back straight
with the changeling sun on it
when my letters
return
will I have seven forwarded hours
to grieve by
