9 July 2012
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. "
Gambit And Flicker • Opuss № I