My Dream

Every day, without fail,
I’d go out to the hanger
And look at my dream.
I’d admire her like
A woman you felt deeply for,
But would never dare approach.
Then I’d gently close the hanger door
And get back to my life once more.
 
A life without passion,
A life without joy,
A life in which I was forever,
Forever thinking of my dream.
Wondering how she’d fly,
Whether she’d make it off the deck
Or crash in a ball of flame.
 
I was too scared to take her out,
Too scared to try my dream.
So all the time she sat,
Sat in the hanger
Whilst I kept saying to myself,
One day, I’ll escape all this and fly away.
 
Then one day came a fire,
A fire so fierce that it voraciously
Consumed everything in its path,
Trees, buildings, animals, people.
I looked out and saw
That I was surrounded,
With fires raging to the
North, East, South and West.
 
I was totally cut off.
If I stayed where I was
I was sure to die.
And I did not want to die.
 
There was but one hope,
My only hope,
My dream.
I ran to the hanger and
For the first time,
Towed her outside.
 
I climbed aboard her
And set the switches with a purpose,
A purpose of life, or death.
The flames are now much closer,
It’s getting difficult to see
For all the smoke.
 
I start the engines
And they fire,
Spluttering at first,
But then roaring like lions.
Everything works as I hoped it would,
How I prayed it would.
 
Now the moment of truth.
At the start of the long straight road,
The road that is now my runway
I open the throttle,
Set the flaps
And release the brake.
 
We roll, faster and faster,
Faster and faster down
The hot and sticky road,
Sticky from the heat
Of the raging monster
That is consuming
Everything in its path.
 
The flames are now licking
At the ends of the wings,
The wings of my dream.
I can no longer see
For all the smoke,
And instead have to trust
My instruments.
 
10, 20, 50, 80 knots,
She takes it in her stride.
Then gently,
Oh so gently, oh so gracefully,
My dream takes wing!
Up, up, up and away from the smoke and flame,
The fires that are now consuming my former life,
A life that is now ashes.
 
Only my dream remains,
And she flies beautifully!
 
© David Gibson, 2009