by Robert - just a simple man - B.
Member since:
April 12, 2007

The Geography of Flight

November 13, 2011 12:36 AM UTC (Updated: November 13, 2011 09:54 PM UTC)
views: 0 | 11 people recommend this | comments: 37

The Geography of Flight

©2011 Robert C Burnham

 

The passengers do not know

That they are spatial

And if they overheard the pilot

Speak of the Coriolis Effect

They would only wonder if

They had taken proper precautions

 

The passengers do not know

That they are being counted

In numerous ways – for numerous reasons

For instance, Passenger 14C

Will never read the journal

Indicating him as ‘The’ Budapest demographic

In Bowling Green

 

The passengers do not know

Their destinations – they wonder

Will Mumbai be anything like Bombay

If the hotels are better in Istanbul than Constantinople

Or if Mother Theresa was so selfish that she

Never left Calcutta to visit Kolkata

 

Despite all their unknowing,

They still egress to the great bird

Yielding their fate to others’ ability

To solve for x – and to

Extrapolate the correct coordinates

Presented by an oblate sphere

As Newton stands Cassini on end

 

 

 

 

Whetstone Poetry

Please see first comment bubble.

 

 

Comments: 37 ( 3 removed by Robert - just a simple man - B. )

Robert - just a simple man - B. Nov 13, 2011, 12:40am UTC
First, Atticus wrote The Calculus of Flight followed by the musing, The Mechanics of Flight by Ms. Grenadier. It seems only appropriate for me to offer up The Geography of Flight. I make acknowledgement of, but no apologies for, borrowing from Atticus, my last line. After all, he never said that I wasn’t the cowboy on his flight.

The Mechanics of Flight

The Calculus of Flight

:+)
elizabeth evans Nov 13, 2011, 7:49am UTC
I read both Atticus' and Andrea's....and now yours. What a fine trilogy of flight.
Robert - just a simple man - B. Nov 13, 2011, 9:07am UTC
Readers: As Atticus objected, I have had to return to the poem's original ending.
Bernard C. Nov 13, 2011, 5:36am UTC
Interesting flight of fancy - into the arms of trust they go - nicely put

Thanks for sharing and submitting to
The Surreal Circus.
Heidi S. Nov 13, 2011, 7:26am UTC
I love it.
elizabeth evans Nov 13, 2011, 7:50am UTC
Thanks for sharing with Triple Name Club.
Atticus *. Nov 13, 2011, 9:02am UTC
In the context of your poem Robert I like your line much better than mine.
Robert - just a simple man - B. Nov 13, 2011, 9:05am UTC
Thanks for coming by. I have also suggested to Ku & Richard that they compose their own 'Flight' poem.

:+)
Atticus *. Nov 13, 2011, 9:15am UTC
Great! It will be really cool To read them all.
Atticus *. Nov 13, 2011, 9:17am UTC
Robert I really like the ignorance of the passengers and the play on city names as a contrast to their trust that when they board the plane, they will end up where they are going. Delightful poem!
Priya P. Nov 13, 2011, 3:54pm UTC
my thoughts exactly, there was a message well written using wit and excellent writing technique. bombay, mumbai - calcutta, kolkatta - Istanbul than Constantinople. Was a really neat poem Robert.
Robert - just a simple man - B. Nov 13, 2011, 4:29pm UTC
Thanks Priya.

Right now I am working on a 15-page paper comparing & contrasting Dubai and Shanghai centered on their repective emergence as world cities. Oh such fun...
Diane Huizenga Nov 13, 2011, 9:30am UTC
Wonderful and interesting to think about

Thanks for sharing with Surreal Circus
Andrea Grenadier Nov 13, 2011, 9:31am UTC
Robert, beautifully done! I don't think you were the cowboy, to be having such thoughts; you sound more like the mathematician sitting across the aisle. I like the gentle fun of the third stanza, and the innocent observation of the lack of geography knowledge. And many of the lines are so beautifully articulated; this is a joy to read; the last stanza is masterful!
Robert - just a simple man - B. Nov 13, 2011, 11:29am UTC
Mathematician? Not me m'am, I'm just that simple cowboy just trying to earn a Geography degree and hoping to notice all that God presents between sunrise and sunset.

Thank you for your lovely comment, yours also, was a joy to read.
Andrea Grenadier Nov 13, 2011, 11:31am UTC
With that comment, I know that you are indeed a fine poet, as well as a geography major. : )
Andrea Grenadier Nov 13, 2011, 9:32am UTC
Thanks so much for rounding out our flight poems! We could gather (no pun intended) all the flight oems into a book!
Robert - just a simple man - B. Nov 13, 2011, 11:32am UTC
I have tried to entice Papa Richard and Brudder Ku to present "Flight" poems of their own. We will see.
Andrea Grenadier Nov 13, 2011, 11:35am UTC
Brudder Ku is a font of words, so I'm sure he will rise to the bait!
elizabeth evans Nov 13, 2011, 12:45pm UTC
Thanks for sharing with Triple Name Club.
A. F. Stewart Nov 13, 2011, 1:51pm UTC
Wonderfully written.
Len Maxwell Nov 13, 2011, 2:36pm UTC
Very well done; I particularly enjoyed your name game with the cities.

Thanks for sharing with Gather’s Best Writers & Artists where it's now featured.
Kasey Klein Nov 13, 2011, 3:27pm UTC
thanks for sharing
Angela A. Nov 13, 2011, 9:00pm UTC
What a deliciously, wondrously, delightful poem!
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Robert - just a simple man - B. Nov 13, 2011, 9:14pm UTC
what a delicious commenter.
hee-hee
Angela A. Nov 13, 2011, 9:27pm UTC
Ha, he, he, ho
Randi Burnham-Brown Nov 14, 2011, 12:48pm UTC
Amazing that my brother writes this well!!!
Rory M. Nov 14, 2011, 2:27pm UTC
Somehow this makes me think of flying out of low lying clouds into the side of a mountain. Can't say why.
Robert - just a simple man - B. Jun 26, 2012, 9:40pm UTC
Wow, flash ahead to spring 2012, Indonesia. A new plane full of potential buyers did just that. Regrettably, no survivors.
ʚϊɞ Carol ʚϊɞ Nov 14, 2011, 2:51pm UTC
Great job Robert.

Thank you for sharing with Gather's Best Writers & Artists!
Jean R B. Nov 15, 2011, 12:09am UTC
Wonderful, Robert. You did not know that I learned to fly before I could drive. Back in the forties I was flying just a small plane that could carry ten. It is wonderful what one can achieve in life.
amy s. Nov 15, 2011, 10:21am UTC
awesome poems
Dennis Gilman Nov 16, 2011, 12:24pm UTC
Truly awesome Robert.
Sandy Moore Nov 29, 2011, 7:23pm UTC
Wonderful!

Thank you for sharing with Watching The Wind Blow By
Wow. ;o
Robert - just a simple man - B. Jun 26, 2012, 9:41pm UTC
Thank you precious! I am around, just doing some schoolwork. But I've placed you in my prayers.
Thank you kindly, Robert. :) They are most appreciated. :)

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