When We Survived the Plane Crash

When we survived the plane crash

We made a little home

On the island

Something like Swiss Family Robinson

But much more poorly constructed

Because we knew nothing

About architecture

Of which trees to cut down

To make our home with

When the rains came

The homes were washed away

And we needed to shelter

With the gabons

To stay dry

The wreckage landed

In the shallow part

Of the lagoon

And we would talk about

Swimming out to it

And retrieving what we could

Of belongings

And any canned peas

Someone might have thought to pack

But having to face

The death of our fellow passengers

Was too much for us

So instead we sat on the beach

Trying to construct sand castles

And failing

Because we didn’t know

How to mold the sand

In an effective way

Everything in life is technique

And we have no technique

When it comes to building

Or making a home

On a deserted island

All we have is luck

Luck helped us

Survive a plane crash

But now that we’ve survived

We have to continue surviving

And continual survival

Is much more difficult

Than one-time survival

We feel the luck

But the luck is a family member

Overstaying a welcome

At some point

You’d like them

To pick up a mop

And make themselves useful

Luck is not useful

Luck says--

‘I’m Luck

What more do you

Want me to be?’

We try discussing all this

With the gambons

But they’re busy

Peeling their bananas

And we don’t want to bother them

Because we’re their guests

During the endless monsoons

And while we would happily

Pick up a mop

And make ourselves useful

There are no mops

And there are no floors

And anytime we try

To do anything

Things collapse

And disintegrate

When we survived the plane crash

We spent so much time

Waiting on the beach

For other survivors to come

Stumbling out of the forest

We had fresh water ready

That we collected

In coconut shells

Held up under the falling rain

But no one came

And the water dried up

Never drank

Which is a waste

We felt wasteful

And lucky

And confused

Why would we survive

And what was it for

And why were the boats

That go by day and night

Setting off their horns at us

But not stopping

To rescue us

Off this island?

One night we walk by the lagoon
And the wreckage is lit up

On the inside

We see flight attendants

Walking down the aisles

Serving drinks

And handing out hot towels

And little by little

The plane pulls itself

From the water

And takes to the sky

Leaving us exactly

Where we are

Not feeling lucky

For the first time

In a long time