The Pilot
By Shin Yu Pai

you move through space
in three dimensions
only in flight

young,
a fascination starts
with the push off

the third story of a neighbor's roof
and the desire to explore
what tooth and hip remember

more clearly than a father tells it

falling

crack of bone

disruptions to water

in inner
the ear

how the body compensates
for fractures
by honing

situational awareness
based on
career vocation

you have perfect eyesight
at night
low level cargo flights

over the Persian sea
the belt of Orion
in the Northern hemisphere

or
a belt of military ships

orthogonal lines recede into a space
where boats to you are as stars