Alex’s Archipelago
I climbed the ladder,
squeezed myself
into the seat,
and placed the plugs
into my ears—
small plane,
very loud engine.
But the view
flying
across the San Juans
is just incredible!
Whatever
quiet terror
I feel
about hurtling myself
through the sky
in something
with a door slightly flimsier
than that of
an airline lavatory,
and a window
made of thin plastic,
that boasts
a ventilation hole
I can stick three fingers through—
Well,
that fear
disappears
when I look
out that window;
small plane—
fantastic
in-flight movie.
Alex Shapiro April 2008
5 comments:
Hello Alex!
What a pleasure to learn that you are a contributor to Feel Free to Read blog! I so entirely enjoyed Notes from the Kelp. I'm just so thrilled for you in every respect. You seem to be so thoroughly engaged in Life, Music, Art, and no Aviation! Wow. What an eclectic mix. I really don't know how you do it - all! You go grrrl!
I love your poem, Alex. Brought back so many of my own memories riding in a teeny 2-seater years ago. I couldn't quite make the adjustment from super jets to flying tin can last time out. I had to ask the pilot to turn the rig 'round and bring me down. As in now! I was about to hurl. The gentle 15-20 degree banks felt like 90 degrees - to me - in such a teeny plane..:) I'm assuming you're manning the controls? T'is a bootiful plane, tho! lol
a.k.a. poeticjustice AT mindspring DOT com
heh heh, Alex, that line should read "You seem to be so thoroughly engaged in Life, Music, Art, and now Aviation!" Makes a big difference..:)
Janet, dear, as you read more of Alex's earlier postings, at some point months ago, you will see my comments about taking her beautiful prose, and rearranging it a bit, giving it the poetric tweak of life, as it were. She seems to get a kick out of it, and actually some of the poetry she has written. I dug into her archives on NOTES FROM THE KELP, searching diligently for pregnant prose, and poetry.
So how wonderful that like me, you are a fan of Ms. Shapiro. Did you know her while she lived in California? She is always so gracious and friendly to all who drop by her blog site, one thinks that everyone is her old friend.
Glenn
Hi again, Glenn. Oopsy-daisy, put my foot in it again, didn't I? I haven't read your whole blog and thought Alex was actually writing her own poetry. lol Oh, well, the laughs on me. Quite all right since somebody has to be the fool. And I love to make people laugh. *snort*
I didn't know Alex in CA. I discovered her blog quite by accident. I used to run a blog for Antioch Chamber Ensemble; my son is Music/Artist Director of the group he and 3 of his fellow classmates at Westminster Choir College founded while in college. I wrote comments on music blogs, and one blog leads to another, as you know, and I found myself on Alex's original blog. I just fell in love with her music, artistic and poetic ways and I'd visit her blog just for the writing and to try to keep up on what she was doing. I left a couple poems on the other site because I also love the sea and they have the ocean theme. How about you? How did you meet Alex?
Janet:
I was a regular Laugher on Doug's blog site, and I had posted one of my poems, SODOM, about a California wildfire in the late 60's, in conjunction with those comments she had about her old canyon home burning. She liked the poetry, and encouraged me to post more. She puts comments on Doug's site regularly, so this led me to her site. Like you, I loved it, and she is so very welcoming. Sometimes I feel that I get carried away with my exuberance and verbosity and "ego", but she has assured me that my comments, and "our" poetry are both welcome in her life, and on NOTES FROM THE KELP.
Glenn
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