the crew at their stations
all hands on deck
the ship lurches n buckles
the night surrounds us with the stars
somethings come loose
and it bang bang bangs against us
as we shudderingly heave off
every rivet every last sprocket pushed into the metal
straining to hold it together
friction claws at us
its fingers sink into our skin
small fires break out along the fuselage
rapidly diminishing grey sphere
we pull away and out
backwards into nothing
the captain sleeps at the bridge
the motion of a dream guides her eyes
the arc of some light
the flash of an explosion way out there
the instruments detect and avoid
the engines white hot and singing now
re-attachment of memory
on the screen the radii move within 7 concentric circles
the navigator looks down at his hands
as they slide across the controls
a series of sudden jerks
port
starboard
port
starboard
some other dimension tries to claim us
its mouth opens
and our speed draws us in
the captain wakes up from her dream guidance
as we slide across 5 million years in a split second
zxzxzxzxzxzxzxz
the crackle of static
no one seems panicky as we fall softly thru time
some turbulence as the serrated edges of the wings open
atmospheric bursts intermittent buffering
everything shaking
the captains hair floats around her like a halo
her eyes are intent on the gauges
she winces as several indicators move into the red
the cabin becomes warmer
the navigator tears off his goggles and wipes away the sweat
in the nursery the pods fog over
the heliotropes wither suddenly
while the angelfruit blooms
upsidedown and insideout
i twist to avoid the motion
the cabin becomes hotter and hotter
my eyes and ears fill with sweat
then we smell the smoke
next minute water bursts from the roof
and an argument breaks out
keep it together the captain screams at me
but im too far away now
everything recedes
the navigator in slow motion
calculating his angles and his angels
the panels along the wall light up
a number of umbilicals have malfunctioned
the captain is talking to somebody out there
shes speaking in some other language
lightheadedness
abandon
something ahead
waiting for me
waiting waiting waiting
always waiting
waiting
slow down slowly
a motionless blip
approaching
forever