Haibun Turbulence

By Harry Lowery

Seatbelt sign on. Shakes left. Jolts right. Like Juno’s waves, wind forces the craft down. Decreasing altitude. Wings bank forty-five degrees. City lights stare. Horizontal rain. Heartbeats rise with gusts: 100bpm, 100 mph. Engines pant like prey. Computers glitch. Children cry. Stewards panic. Protocol ditched. Aborted landing one. Hand covers eyes. Passengers scream. Thrusted back into the storm. An underworld over the world. Tensed arms are flung to the side. Shaking legs sweat. Wingtip lights in thick clouds. Aborted landing two. Visions of Grandma Sheila Aeneas has never seen. Flashbacks explode before eyes: primary school, childhood home, loving parents. Tears. Aeolus, Keeper of the Winds, has summoned Storm Eunice. The sign of the cross for all to see. Our Father. Hail Mary. Amen. Amen. Amen.

All I want to do

is tell Venus I love her.

I don’t want to die.