KindOf NaPoWriMo #4

April 13, 2008

“Re-Entry”

At dusk the plane’s contrail
slits the sky vertically
in the failing light.
It could be a plummeting,
oxygen masks swinging
from lamped gibbets:
fasten your seat belt,
smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

On the radio a report:
the first Chinese astronaut
has just returned safely,
his sizzling capsule plucked
still steaming from the sea
smelling impossibly of
blossoms and river clay.
His first breathless words:
he has finally seen the Earth
and it is beautiful.

Tags: KindOfNaPoWriMo, NaPoWriMo