10,000 feet above the surface of the earth

 

10,000 feet above the surface of the earth,

he realized he could not land a plane

and so

he cut his own fuel line.

finding a smooth descent towards a runway that would only raze him on contact too sublime for his tastes, he

instead decided to knife through the clouds at horrible velocity–tattooing the ground with                 bone and metal–

forever charring the earth. he would leave his teeth

as a symbol of

his screaming dignity.

if he was to claim responsibility for

his own death, he would do it

silently,

jawbone welded to the seat.

in a single myopic moment he saw the appalling truth:

he was incapable.

as consolation,

he crawled along the bottom of the fuselage

and ripped open a rubber tube.

 

jonathan d baker 4 30 04