The Emergency Exit

The airplane was piercing the white clouds
I sat beside the exit door
The flight attendant asked me if I spoke English
“I am a poet,” I said.
She smiled sheepishly.
I looked out the window 
Thinking of my ephemeral life
On this side of the exit door in a flying airplane
I closed my eyes
I saw God 
Existing in the green pasture below
And in the silky clouds 
The shapes of the clouds were like His eyes 
Looking at me from outside the exit window
I felt so close to Heaven.

The Earth lies below peacefully
The emergency exit stared at me…

Linh Duy Vo
September 25, 2003 ©

Poet’s Note: I was on a flight to attend the Fourth of July, 2003, reunion of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association in Orlando.  A passenger who sits beside the emergency exit door is required to understand the written instruction.

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