Gambit And Flicker

I pause
Everything is quiet
A calm, white stillness seeps in through the carpet
Nothingness fills me as I feel numinous
I feel filled with air
Clean, complete, this is the end,
This is how I die, I am finished.
And soon I feel - as if suspended in water - I am weightless
I am still, constant, permanent
Not turgid, but unmoving
Suspended from the clouds at 30,000 feet
By silver linings
We will get out
We will

I see the seatbelt lights flashing,
Winking like satellites from far off worlds
And I feel the space in the plane slow down further
I feel myself lifting from the seat as we begin plunging
Gravity melting
I am floating like a spirit

The mouths of passengers screaming
But I tell myself perhaps they are yawning
The frantic looks in their eyes, searching for stillness
Searching for some relic of peace
But I am a complete soul, breathing the air,
Saying goodbye to myself
I am prepared. I am not scared anymore

The plane shakes and rumbles slowly, it's colours smearing into each other
Lightning fractures the night sky and
Shows the cracks to heaven
I feel drunk, almost nauseous
If I try to stand I will fall

Soon this does not matter
Our bodies are thrown slowly into the open space above our seats
Contorting, like a acrobats,
Whirling through the air,
Tumbling, falling, reaching out for some form of gravity to take us
Our tears dripping off our faces, defying gravity,
Whirling through the air like little crystals
We are there for minuets, staggering,
Kicking against anything solid
Swimming through nothingness
For minuets, hours,
Preparing for the beyond

A mother clutches her baby
Fear no longer troubles her
She curls around him
Enveloping him in warmth and calm
She is his shell
She is his protection

We tumble to the floor,
One by one,
An air hostess falls like a broken doll on her side
Bending, snapping, cracking, crumbling
And we are all pulled to the floor by some unmentionable force

The plane straightens out
Slowly, cruelly, slipping out of the storm
The inky sky bleeds away into a blue sheet
Time speeds, reels forward, scrambles, shatters
And
I am on the floor
Seconds have passed
It was nothing but a flicker
In the repeat of time
But to us, it was eternity
As we plunged through the sky

"This is our captain, Peter I'm sorry about the turbulence, ladies and gentlemen, the hostesses are capable of exemplary standards of first aid, so please take full advantage of this. I apologise profusely for the mistake I made travelling through the storm, it was a risk that should shave hours off our journey. Please accept my deepest regrets. We will be stopping off in England for repairs and medical care. Thank you. "