i was once on a sinking boat.
it was going down faster
than a south jersey brick!
but we were 3 feet from shore
so we walked out, squeezed
the salt water out of our
ankles and toes, and went
for ice cream.
this other time the airplane
i was on had an engine
malfunction. it flamed out so
violently and brightly that it
reminded me of Hollywood
with its ingenues, all lined
up along the velvet ropes
waiting to be set ablaze.
when the captain announced
he was making an emergency
landing in Detroit the lady
next to me shrieked, clutching
the armrest between us:
oh no, not Detroit,
god please, not Detroit!
the plane shook and curtsied
to the queen of all dying
things and i curled my
toes around the hollow branch
of shitty luck and consequence.
we landed the way my drunk
father would on most nights
get to and in his bed:
rattling in the void of pitch
black darkness,
-to immediate applause.
