Paper Airplanes

A bit of an abstract comparison between paper airplanes and life, perhaps?

Paper Airplanes
By
Richard Vance


Paper airplanes dip from view,
All made the same,
Their folds, their creases sharp,
And when it seems that all is lost,
They suddenly appear again to
Streak across a deep blue sky,
They fly so high,
But never giving you or I
A satisfactory reason why.
The only messages they hold,
I’m told,
They hide from view,
The writing really can’t be read
When they insist on flying way above my head,
The numbers pasted on their side,
Will not provide
Identities,
Or give away their secret scribe.
What do they want,
What can they bring,
Perhaps a lot, or not a thing?
Like life, sometimes,
A gentle glide upon the unseen wind,
A perfect landing,
Or, at worst,
To crash and burn, again.


Edited 8/30/07