Tufts of delicate clouds cast feathery shadows
against the stark moonscape
of the bleak Arizona desert
panning by the windows of Flight 1649.
The Colorado snakes and scours its way
southward across the barren ochre dust
and waters Lake Havasu's synthetic playland.
Soaring peacefully above the Mohave sands
Palm Springs clicks into view like a travelogue slide.
Cotton Candy treats of crystal and vapor
hover beyond the reach of children's tongues.
The pilot dips the aircraft's nose earthward
and its wings are erased and redrawn
by the cotton candy mists
drifting over the San Bernadinos.
Landing gears spin, touch and stop
and our flock of flightless bipeds
reclaims its land legs in Ontario terminal.
November 28, 2006
Robert Charles Howard
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/landing-at-la-ontario/
