Flying into JFK, 9/11/10
Our descent slower than normal
Since the sky swarmed with planes
The houses of Queens blanket
The ground rising beneath us
Our craft thick with travelers
Accented voices burbling
German, English, Indian, Arab, Latin
A supple sampling of our boroughs.
When finally we fell to the ground
And began a long crawl to nuzzle the dock,
Manhattan's delicate silhouette
Stretched westward for miles
Haloed by the flush of the setting sun
Though clouds lowered high above
Waiting perhaps to descend.
And to the north,
So many aircraft lined up,
Drifting jaggedly towards earth
Like bright, white flares
Falling from the heavens.
