Riding the Airlines after a Major Air Disaster

Through the window it occurred to me,
among the seated expectation,
briefcase's sad reflection,
that I'd rather be a sailor
sure to ride the rabid sea
than to let this life let go of me.
I've seen too much of Sagan
dropping feathers of the soul
into the weighted citizenship
of looking-glass black holes.
I don't feel a cosmic race
out there waltzing time away,
and since what we can see
is not enough to say
one way or the other,
I think I'd rather stay,
to drink my days
like scalding tea
and smile to think
God's watching me.


(Arkansas Magazine, Arkansas Democrat, 1985)