28d (edited) • General discussion
Turbulence and Awe
From a sky less than friendly,
I peer into a canyon most certainly grand,
sun-carved and ancient,
a wound in the earth so deep and wide
it makes even the clouds go quiet.
The plane hums its bored little song,
coffee sloshing in plastic cups,
strangers flipping pages or dozing off,
while below us lies a cathedral
built by patience and the slow insistence of time.
I press my forehead to the window,
watching shadows stretch like long, tired arms,
and I’m struck, again
by how small we are,
how big the world is,
and how many miracles we miss
because the seatbelt sign is on
and we’re trying to find a comfortable way
to sit with our own thoughts.
Still, for a moment,
turbulence and all,
the sky opens,
the canyon waits,
and I remember that even on an ordinary flight
to a place I’ve been before,
the world can surprise me…
if I’m willing to look down
when everything else tells me
to look away.
-Stephen Ango Oliver 11/12/2022 & Edited 11/12/2025
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Turbulence and Awe
