Journey's end.
The plane
glides down
like a swan
from its place
among the stars.
Those who look up
in the night
become an audience
to its twinkling lights.
Where are those people from?
Why do they come here?
The questions
draw to a close
as the plane lowers
further,
out of the horizon
window frame.
Sleeping passengers
rouse themselves,
opening their eyes
to see a city
of constellations,
man's lights reflecting the
higher galaxies beyond his world.
Seat belts are fastened
and suspense grows
as altitude diminishes.
The dark ground
below grows closer
and closer.
Lone cars move fast
on quiet highways,
indifferent to any watchers
in the black sky above.
Airport runways
come into focus,
then fences,
then terminals,
other planes
from other places.
Finally...
impact.
The blast,
the shock,
the thrill.
The massive bird
comes to a calm
and struts proudly
to its gate.
