In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing

The French translator of technical manuals would be relieved

of that painful ulcer beneath her tongue.

And a child with only two teeth would never lose them.

The massage therapist who has recently relocated to New Orleans

might request just once more to taste brie

and not be reached.

And the minor celebrity who feared always being the one

to wear it worse?

And the soccer dad reading Schopenhauer?

And the widow who just gasped past sixty-seven gates? Does she not know

that all great falling happens through air?

Reports confirm passengers were alive when they hit the mountain,

and that I did not return

these kind, sheepskin-lined boots

borrowed from a friend for the cold.