ED WOODS

Precious Life

we land softly

onto a safe runway

my passengers

should be vacationers

but this Mercy Flight

will save famine victims

doors open to fresh air

a tiny child looks at me

then points to a stilled figure

I raise her body

onto my chest

as light as a rag doll

and hold in tears

of sincere apology

our efforts failed

too late the takeoff

too long a flight

attendants approach

to finalize her journey

I recoil back and wail

“not yet”

the Grim Reaper

proved a little too eager

for this precious life

Copyright(C)EdWoods2011

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

This poem came out of Ed Woods membership in an Aviation Museum and a story told by a Boeing 747 pilot who was involved in an airlift of famine victims from an African country.

International aid had been given but was not distributed in a timely manner, leaving the vulnerable in a desperate position.

Airlifts to air force bases in Europe were arranged as quickly as possible.  A Boeing 747 has 400 seats, but due to the starvation of these people, five children could fit into one single seat.  One aircraft had approximately 1400 people on board desperately trying to take them for medical attention.

This poem reflects one such flight.