Gulf Of Mexico. 5:15pm

I'm up in a plane, off to Cancun to meet friends and celebrate 60 years of life. I wrote this while 10,000 feet up in the air.

Photo by Ross Parmly on Unsplash

To C.B.

I’m high above
the Gulf of Mexico
drinking beers
looking down
while everything’s
looking up
cuz it can’t get better
than riding clouds
and being nowhere
in the embrace of just air
and no thought of anything
down there.

No casinos.
No shopping carts.
No wedding vows.
No coffee shops.
No morning quickies.
No pills or half-made plans.
No hangovers.
No eurekas.
No strip clubs.
No looking for parking.

Just nothing.
Only water,
the water we all come from
born into this, wet
screaming, peeing
wide-eyed
into somewhere
mortgages and debts
torn pantyhose
shiny apples, desire
and dim sum.

Born into this
until we find ourselves
10,000 feet above
the Gulf of Mexico, 5:15 pm
nowhere
and wondering if
they have enough beer
to heal
all that hurts
from what happened
down there.