Amelia's Grin

I've been flying solo for so long
Spokesmodel for beleaguered sorts
Sometimes it depresses me
Just to hear the weather report

It's a very fine blue line
Along longitude and latitude
That line between cloud and fog
Between loneliness and solitude

I worked so hard for that degree
In conquest, man's world to win
License on the wall next to Amelia
Grinning that boyish grin

I thought it was gonna be fun
To go conquer those wild blues
But endless flights to nowhere fall
Prey to the Navigator's ruse

Compass, pointless, stays a stubborn course
Commands a contraption's moods
Stuck between cloud and loneliness
Between fog and solitude

I worked so hard for that degree
In conquest, man's world to win
License on the wall next to Amelia
Grinning that boyish grin

Sometimes I wonder, was I blinded
In the fight for the right to flight?
So low on fuel, so high and alone
In the middle of the dark of night

Maybe I land on an island
Maybe freefall into the sea
As I float through the streets in my hybrid
Do they wonder what became of me?

I worked so hard for that degree
In conquest, man's world to win
License on the wall next to Amelia
Grinning that boyish grin

I convince myself of safe landing
Cross the lawn, and turn the key
So many flight details to share
There's nobody here but me

Amelia grins like a skeleton
Pre-flight into eternity
I wonder whatever became of me
Have I disappeared into the sea?

I worked so hard for that degree
Woman's conquest, man's world to win
License on the wall next to Amelia
Grinning such a boyish grin

I settle in to watch the news
Navigate away from the weather
Flying like Amelia
Floating like a feather

The suggested dose of nightly fog
Settles around me comfortably
Oh, Amelia, where have you gone?
Why have you abandoned me?

I worked so hard for that degree
Woman's conquest, man's world to win
License on the wall next to Amelia
Grinning such a boyish grin

 © John Kennan 7-22-18

(Of heroes and dreams
Variations on themes
Be careful what you wish for
It ain't always what it seems)