fahye: (Default)
Fahye ([personal profile] fahye) wrote2011-01-04 04:53 pm
Entry tags:

unsurprisingly, I wrote most of this in my head on the plane over here

a brief period of turbulence

ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm.
this is nothing more than a reminder
that the oversized metal box
to which you have entrusted the continuation
of your single precious and all too mortal life
is being hurled through the air at unimaginable speeds,
held countless miles above foreign surfaces
by some obscure laws of physics
in which you have never really believed.

you will notice that the captain has switched on the seatbelt sign;
the toilets on board may no longer be used.
please remain in your seats
sedating your nerves with complimentary drinks,
and with your seatbelt fastened
low and tight across your bladder.

our crew is here for your convenience
and to prove the plausibility of wobbling one's way
up and down the forbidden aisles
in three-inch heels. their smiles
will remain sunny even in direst straits,
and should therefore not be used
as an indicator of safety.

should oxygen masks be required,
tachypnoea is frowned upon:
please conduct your respiration
with the decorum fitting a world traveller
to whom a trifling indication that the air itself is unsafe
is hardly a reason to breathe faster.

in the event of an emergency landing at sea,
please adopt whatever position best serves
to instill a sense of blind hope.
the light on your lifejacket is activated by water
and has a battery life of approximately two hours longer
than the time it will take for hypothermia to set in.

once in the lifeboats,
those of you who brought your laptops
despite our explicit instructions
to leave all possessions behind
will be turned upon
and eaten first.

we do thank you for your patience at this time.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
<3 Ah, you are a poetic marvel. I love the humour in this.
ext_21673: (Default)

[identity profile] fahye.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I have never tried humour in poetry before! It is remarkably fun.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
and *addictive*. :D

[identity profile] laria-gwyn.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 06:32 pm (UTC)(link)
:D I especially love the last paragraph. ♥
ext_21673: ([sh] an infinite impetus forward)

[identity profile] fahye.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Every time I hear it I think 'but but but surely I could just grab X and Y' and then I have visions of the crew yelling and throwing them dramatically overboard.
skygiants: Princess Tutu, facing darkness with a green light in the distance (shared lulz means otp)

[personal profile] skygiants 2011-01-04 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
As a relatively frequent flyer, I was giggling all the way through this. Well played!
ext_901: (Default)

[identity profile] foreverdirt.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
This is brilliant! I am grinning in half amusement, and half wry recognition.

[identity profile] lizardspots.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
LOLing forever

[identity profile] lilith-lessfair.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice. Very, very nice.

ashen_key: ([KoH] black and white smile)

[personal profile] ashen_key 2011-01-04 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Buahah, this is hilarious. And so true.

[identity profile] lilyfarfalla.livejournal.com 2011-01-04 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee hee hee, I LOVE this. Oh man. It should be podcast so we can all listen and recite along during bumpy flights. Or just required memorization!

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_solaeris/ 2011-01-05 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
I don't usually like poetry, but this is perfect. Two perfectly normal sentences sandwiched by a heaping of zaniness! Love it.

[identity profile] ronsard.livejournal.com 2011-01-05 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
Very nice. The stanza that starts "once in the lifeboats" turned my grin into chortles.
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[identity profile] schiarire.livejournal.com 2011-01-05 02:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Hehehe! I too like the end best. :)

[identity profile] buhfly.livejournal.com 2011-01-05 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)
I love this.
genarti: ([avatar] i will walk through the fire)

[personal profile] genarti 2011-01-05 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee hee hee hee hee. I love this enormously!

[identity profile] unravels.livejournal.com 2011-01-05 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Ahahaha, awesome. XD I know the feeling. It's generally dark out there, so I try to ignore it until it becomes bumpy and ignoring is impossible.
ext_3522: (News Quiz: Falling Flights)

[identity profile] minervasolo.livejournal.com 2011-01-05 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm definitely looking forward to flying for the first time in over a decade now! :P Awesome poem, and I think I might save it to read again post end-of-January holiday.