Author: Weston Newbell

A Song to the Airplane 
No beast of war, 
No machine of travel, 
Deserves as much praise, 
As the airplane. 
See it, zipping up and up, 
Away! Off into the endless skies and the thunderous clouds, 
Away! Off to war in Ukraine or vacation in Peru, 
Away! Off to Europe or Asia or America or Africa, 
Away! Off, off into nothing and onto everything. 
See it, zipping up and up, 
See how it soars! 
Roaring across the world and into the heavens, 
Soaring above the hustle and bustle of our tawny soil, 
Screeching and humming with the birds up high. 
See it, zipping up and up, 
As boys and men fight face to face on wet clay, 
As tanks rumble through and crush beneath, 
As ships sail the abyssal black ocean, 
The airplane flies above it all, 
Shooting down and out and above, 
Reaching heights no man ever saw, 
Becoming heroes and aristocrats of the machine; 
The boldness of Icarus found manifest today, 
And I tell it, “Icarus! Fly higher! 
Helios cannot melt your steel wings! 
Do not be afraid of the sun!  
Do not be afraid of your fellow man! 
With the airplane, you are not a man, 
You are a hawk! An eagle! An unbreakable falcon! 
You are a nobleman of the heights! 
Icarus! Fly higher!,” and with these words, 
I continue to sing and praise, 
My song to the airplane. 

Weston Newbell has been reading and writing poetry for several years on his Substack under the handle @westonzebbra. Last year, he published a collection of his poems, titled Violet Sorrows: Collected Poems, which is available for purchase on Amazon. He continues to write poems on themes of love, sorrow, spirituality, technology, and whatever else finds his interest.