With headphones pressed against his ears
To block out the sound of the plane overhead.
In the pile of dusty paperwork, he
Comes to the letter sent him 18 months before
Stares off to the sky and drifts away
To his favorite places-
The Ohio apartment, the Pennsylvania cabin-
Sweats those passionate summer nights again,
The lovely girl that he once knew.
That sun-bright sky that once smiled upon him
He swears he sees before him now,
As he neglects to see with his real eyes
The reddened Detroit sky and the gigantic
puff that engulfs the city,
Fungus-shaped and laughing.
At the same time off in distant lands,
Leaders that he has never laid his eyes upon
Discuss statistics of bodies just like his,
Savoring their time in their favorite chairs.
