ZEN AND THE ART OF AIRCRAFT MECHANICS

They like it behind the panel:
Cerebral problems leading to
embarrassing physical positions
not even sex could justify,
the unreadable wiring,
those clipped and hanging
(God alone knows where they went),
future problems encountered,
sealed brains, de-ice timers, so on,
the imposing black backs of instruments
with their fat plugs, multi-wired
bridge between realities,
the dexterity of the fingers,
the agility of the arm,
the endurance of the neck and back:
They like it behind the panel.


(Coe Review, Coe College, Issue 16, 1986)