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Window Shades and the Banality of Miracles

by V. Blake

the only thing i've learned from airplanes
is how quickly infinite awe
can wither to nothing
beneath overexposure.
there's a stranger next to me
who swears it's how the world will end.
i've seen enough from window seats
to suspect it already has.

they give you free drinks in first class.
i wonder if it's because
there's nothing else to offer.

09/02/2012

Author's Note: I have flown over 75,000 miles this year.

Posted on 09/03/2012
Copyright © 2024 V. Blake

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by George Hoerner on 09/03/12 at 02:30 AM

That is a lot of flying. I'd love to travel like that if I could choose the destinations. I suspect though that you didn't have a choice of where you were going.

Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 09/03/12 at 06:38 PM

Well, a few days ago, while seated snugly in an airplane seat (First Class impaired) on my way back to Washington from New York,... it occurred to me that a rather striking similarity existed between the situation I found myself in then, flying in a modern airplane, and what I've often felt as I watch television. To begin with, both experiences are largely passive, or at any rate they have been transformed into passive experiences. But this shared passivity is itself more complicated than it seems, for though it produces in both cases an obvious condition of quiet and inactivity, it also demands from the passenger or viewer a very definite emotional commitment. One might call it a commitment to specifically non-aggressive and un-involved behavior. Excellent poem. Thanks.

Posted by Sarah Wolf on 09/03/12 at 08:41 PM

I always get a feeling of awe when in the plane flying. Looks like a million little ants below. Puts the world into perspective. Nice write.

Posted by Laurie Blum on 09/05/12 at 04:31 PM

I really enjoyed this poem and the message it imparts! I hope you get to use those frequent flyer miles to go somewhere 'awe' inspiring!

Posted by Gabriel Ricard on 09/14/12 at 01:20 AM

Great imagery, tone and perspective.

Posted by Amie Golda on 09/14/12 at 04:24 AM

Hey Vince, as it's been a while since I've been on pathetic, I can certainly say I've really missed reading your poems...along with the other Pathetic poets of course. That being said, this is certainly a refreshing write. I love how you turn musings and ordinary things into poetry and this is no exception, my friend. The end right there made a resounding "boom" to your point.

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