The Airship
This airship so vast
Glinting and rippling
It's silver skin scatters
In the clouds
The gentle hum of
Mighty propellers
So far away
How they soothe me
Dressed finely we are
Everyone
Tails and top hats
Hong Kong cuts and tiaras
Peace presides
Over this place
At dinner, and in the great
Library
The earth strewn below
Appears and then hides
In the porthole windows
A reminder of when it was
Hard
To live
And so easy to die
I sit comfortably
In a reverie
My hand lays on a book
From Mr. Lear
He would be flattered to
See
They are all here of course
By invitation,
To board the grand vessel
And to be at peace here
To enjoy conversing
And the fine and gentle things
Of life
There was a time down there
When gentlemen and women
Held the earth
Those were delicate threads
That suspended us all
Over a thirsty hell
Gone are those days
Save upon this airship
They tear each other in the streets
They rip at one another with words
They destroy themselves with excess
Here there is none of that.
Only peace and decency
How glad am I to have been invited!
To spend my days at leisure
To learn everything I want
To be the person I knew I could be
I rejoice at the esteemed company around me
Untouched in this last refuge
Hidden in the clouds