En route (how I encountered war)

I was in Emirates business class, on the way to Dubai, en route to a holiday. I was happy with myself, my life. A full meal, two rom-coms, one to go, and the relief of my kids tethered, as they slept after all kinds of indulgences. There was a peaceful sea which awaited me, massages, and sunset walks. This is life, I deserve it. I sighed into my smile.   Then there was static, peculiar to a plane, the one which precedes an announcement. Unusual, as it was dark in the cabin, and it was sleep-time.   "Ladies & gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I know I am disturbing you, as a lot of you might be sleeping. And I debated with myself before coming on. But I thought it would be fair to tell you this. You know about the war between Iran and Israel. If you would care to slide up your window cover and look down, you would see several streaks of light. They are beautiful. Those are missiles. From the direction you would know which country fired them and where they are headed. Don't worry. We are safe. We are several thousand feet above them. Don't worry. All I would like to say is - whoever you support, at the end of these missiles is death and destruction. Not awe. Not celebration. Hold a prayer for those who these missiles find. Because we are all humans. And we all die, when someone else does. Sorry for this intervention. But I thought a collective prayer might help. Good night."   I looked out and down into the clear space. And saw how calmly those beautiful streaks travelled with us. If they were humans, we would have waved at each other. I looked on for long minutes, till the missiles veered and found a new direction. And we stayed onto our course. I am glad the children slept on. Else they would have wondered why their mother held on to the seat handles till her knuckles went white, they would have wondered why she had her eyes closed through the rest of the journey, they would have wondered why she was crying so inconsolably.   If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems on wars of all kinds - 

• Politics on the Dining Table
• No Revolution is Complete Without a Ruined Soul
• For Anyone Who Bleeds

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Get in touch with me on [e-mail]   The details of the music used in this episode are as follows -  Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 10 by Sascha Ende Begegnung Romeos Erbe by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 10 Link: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/Begegnung Romeos Erbe Licence:  https://filmmusic.io/standard-license