I watch airline disaster documentaries
the day after the 2024 presidential election
while my optimism hits the California countryside
while my hope nose dives into the Pacific
while my joy spirals into the Peruvian jungle
while all possibility is shot down by a Russian missile
because the four chambers of my heart stall
and I attempt to glide to a smooth landing
but my landing gear won’t lower
but my instruments aren’t working
but my windshield has been shattered
so I tell every attendant version of myself
to tell every frightened passenger I have ever been
to brace for an emergency landing
and I adjust the flaps pretending they will slow
the reality from slamming into the next four years
happy to know the cockpit voice recorder
will document just how badly we needed help
–
Candice M. Kelsey (she/her) is a writer and educator living in Los Angeles and Georgia. Often anchored in the seemingly quotidian, her work explores the intersections of place, body, and belonging; she has been featured in SWWIM, The Laurel Review, Poet Lore, Passengers Journal, and About Place among others. Candice mentors an incarcerated writer through PEN America and reads for The Los Angeles Review. Her comfort-character is Jessica Fletcher.
