the colossal wing

flashes politely

just outside my window

 

sunlight melts

the goosebumps

from my arm

 

carts rattle down the aisle 

with the scent of

fresh coffee beans

 

the young man next to me

lets his lengthy

fingertips fly freely

 

tap dancing 

his open letter

to the world

 

the tiny circle fan

above my head 

tickles the greys I have coming in

 

the ones saying

“well done” for

making it this far

 

the seatbelt sign dings

green now

deeming us free

 

ice cubes

tumble sweaty into

clear plastic cups 

 

foil packages

twist, crinkle

and open up

 

I pause

my AirPods

just in time

 

to hear the attendant’s

Minnesota accent

stretched out like gum

 

“Doo’yah

wanna

snaaagggck?” 

 

I swing my

“No 

thank you!”

 

over the

roar of the

jet engine

 

that keeps us

high above

Mississippi fields 

 

crimped clouds

reflect off the 

oxbow lake below

 

a perfect vanity mirror

for heaven’s mischievous 

cast of characters

 

my hand

holds

my head

 

as I lean

into the

window

 

the steady hum

of high

velocity

 

pulls us

towards

Austin

 

and takes me

into

dreams

 

 

© Candice Reineke 2022