Seatbelt buckled
Turning onto the runway
It’s full length glimpsed from the window
The same unease fills me
As if I was staring down a race track
And have some suffering to endure between now and the finish line
Anticipation building with engine roar
White lines rushing by faster and faster
I question my faith in physics
We trust a concept discovered 300 years ago
To lift a giant metal cylinder from the ground
With just the force of air?
The roar now deafening
Fear felt in stomach pit
Wheels lift off, hanging, suspended
Impossibly they stay up
The relief swells within me
We soar, gaining that special view previously only for the birds
Buildings and cars like toys
Diminutive beside the wide calm sea
Into the cloud layer
Brief calmness broken
We shake and rattle
Tensing up
I keep my shoes on
Don’t let the mind wander there
Filling my ears and eyes with noise and pictures
Trying to forget the giant metal cylinder
Hurtling along at a thousand kilometres an hour
From which there is no escape
I wrote this poem taking off from Singapore airport on my way to Vancouver. Unfortunately I am traveling without my iPad so no drawings will be accompanying anything I write over the next two months. At least until I get home anyway. This also my first attempt at a poem and I know nothing about poetry so apologies if it breaks all the rules!
I will be writing about our bike trip but if you would also like a visual accompaniment you can follow along on Instagram at @whitinthe.wild
Whit in the Wild 