---

 

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “Oasis” Down in the Dirt v215 (1/24) Order the paperback book:

Order this writing that appears in the one-of-a-kind anthology The Limits of Imagination the Down in the Dirt January - April 2024 issues collection book		get the 422 page January - April 2024 Down in the Dirt 6" x 9" ISBN# perfect-bound paperback book:

On The Tarmac

David Parker

Winged tin-bird tubes
Rumble down runways,
Sending certain souls
All over America—

When landing,
They hang in bare air
Before setting down
As gently as a waitress
With a heavy food-tray,
Or the eight-rows-back mother
Comforting her baby
Crying his eyes out.

Here at Reagan, runways cross in peril.

The planes rush to land and take off—
Manhattan rush-hour Ubers
Stomping the brake, flooring the gas,
Then up and away
To God knows where.

Once, my now-dying dad
Told me a tale
Of an air traffic controller
Green screen seeing two planes
About to collide,
His urgent words saving lives,
Then a stress-leave month off
While he sweated out the shock—

Just like our sleepless soldiers,
(hoping to hug their children)
Back from Afghan lands,
Where death waits in the dark,
As it waits for me.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...