Interstellar Reverie

Sipping aromatic coffee on my duty break I glanced beyond the hazy vapors outside toward the isolated runway; under moonlit sky giant aircraft at standstill. Despondent like me they seemed outside, Inside my zestful mind seemed free, While I wondered how bored they might be, In times like these when they couldn't fly. "Ahoy! You seem to take us for granted", I heard a voice somewhere nearby. 'Perhaps I need to sleep for a while' I thought but found an Airbus Glowering through the glistening windscreen. "I can still fly far beyond and free, Do not doubt my divine abilities". Though humans could be more nefarious, Perplexed, I did not believe the machine. And before I could even respond hesitantly, It beguiled and absorbed me inside, Terrified, I saw how it swooshed away And flew past my tower into turbid clouds. Petrified I was but enthralled along By the moonlit sky I could fly through. I voyaged beyond the seven seas, Saw lands in daylight with pastures green, Then hovered over mauve deserts in dusk , And swayed along the snow-clad peaks, That shimmered under divine moonlight. "Let me take you further", whispered the giant, And it took me through blinking frames, That flew past me at great shutter speed. A babbling infant, melodious reflections And how hope had survived inside me When I grew up to be this perturbed lady. Granny's laughter, Mommy's smiles, Enchanting moments, unhindered faith. My life mirrored stirred emotions. And just when it seemed over The giant slowed the shutter speed. Out burst a light of interstellar galaxy, Celestial marvels of revolving universes Frames of my past forgotten lives And of the glorious future births In lives that belonged to other worlds Got swallowed into black holes. Civilizations that had survived Through faith and love, courage undeterred. A yellowed paper addressed for me Appeared toward my joyous heart As the shutter speed increased again Dissolving all into cosmic blackness. "You didn't tell me you could time travel, Was it at the speed of light?", I asked. "I simply adjusted my shutter speed", The giant winked as I bade farewell. ********************** 'Oh what a twisted dream', I'd dozed off, I woke up, bewitched and looked outside The Airbus still looked lethargic at a standstill I smiled to resume work post my duty break Until I felt the yellowed paper with my name Gliding and cold along my fingers intact, "Goodness gracious! Was it a dream!" Or a reverie coming to life at last". May 16, 2020