Black

did you desire for this?
that your life
should end like this
in the glory of despair?
did you know that as you soared into the air
that this was your last flight,
your eagle-like wings would weigh
you down?

*
I expect it crossed your hopeless mind
that you as bird
rates less than zero
on the scale of global concern

*
that the pilot
trained in the beauty of death
rates a more grand funeral
than yours
heavy with oil
sinking
in a dark black sea.

Written by Sarah Morris

Author`s note:

I was living in Chester in the early 90’s — the energy of the dance scene coming into its own — when  on the television (with only four channels) came the news item about the Panama Oil Slick. The image is still with me today of the Pelican covered in oil, helpless and on their last flight. It struck me that nobody cared for them, but pilots who also fly, are honoured when they die.