20,000 feet

i rose above
this city that's been lying to me
with it's cruel blanket of clouds

angry men floating
on their grey stomachs

muffling my sounds
strangling prayers

i thought i knew rain
but now i've seen
where it comes from

if i knew more about rosaries
i'd clutch prayer beads like
enemies
instead i listen to
tape running blank
hoping you'd make
one more sound

at take off
i see the carney faces
i see the ferris wheel
the bull dozers
cranes and
jerry cans
i see your mother
dumping fuel
i see the lions being
fed human arms
and the tigers
losing sleep
at take off i see the
islands at my feet
i see your worried
face
i see the eyes at the bottom of
the sea

above the clouds
there is a blue sky
a white sun
and a bird out of breath
descending slowly.