History Of The Airplane Poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

History Of The Airplane

Rating: 3.6


And the Wright brothers said they thought they had invented
something that could make peace on earth
(if the wrong brothers didn’t get hold of it)
when their wonderful flying machine took off at Kitty Hawk
into the kingdom of birds but the parliament of birds was freaked out
by this man-made bird and fled to heaven

And then the famous Spirit of Saint Louis took off eastward and
flew across the Big Pond with Lindy at the controls in his leather
helmet and goggles hoping to sight the doves of peace but he did not
Even though he circled Versailles

And then the famous Yankee Clipper took off in the opposite
direction and flew across the terrific Pacific but the pacific doves
were frighted by this strange amphibious bird and hid in the orient sky

And then the famous Flying Fortress took off bristling with guns
and testosterone to make the world safe for peace and capitalism
but the birds of peace were nowhere to be found before or after Hiroshima

And so then clever men built bigger and faster flying machines and
these great man-made birds with jet plumage flew higher than any
real birds and seemed about to fly into the sun and melt their wings
and like Icarus crash to earth

And the Wright brothers were long forgotten in the high-flying
bombers that now began to visit their blessings on various Third
Worlds all the while claiming they were searching for doves of
peace

And they kept flying and flying until they flew right into the 21st
century and then one fine day a Third World struck back and
stormed the great planes and flew them straight into the beating
heart of Skyscraper America where there were no aviaries and no
parliaments of doves and in a blinding flash America became a part
of the scorched earth of the world

And a wind of ashes blows across the land
And for one long moment in eternity
There is chaos and despair

And buried loves and voices
Cries and whispers
Fill the air
Everywhere

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Brian Jani 16 May 2014

Amazing showcase of talent

4 1 Reply
Brian Jani 16 May 2014

Amazing showcase of poetry, keep it up

4 1 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 17 August 2020

'And buried loves and voices Cries and whispers Fill the air Everywhere' - So pathetic!

1 1 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 08 November 2023

ONE: The poet runs across the grounds about the origins of the airplane and the related development, he also mentions the destruction of the Twin tower by airplanes.

2 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 08 November 2023

TWO: I find this poem by Ferlinghetti scary, but also the way he mentioned, that the world does not yet have a third world war, there are bombings and attacks between Putin and Ukraine,

2 0 Reply
Savita Tyagi 08 November 2023

Every inventions starts with peace and welfare for humanity and ends up causing ruins and chaos! A poem that leaves one chewing the truth like bitter gourd.

0 0 Reply
Bri Edwards 08 November 2023

(cont.) His entry to the world of journalism was writing sports for The Daily Tar Heel, and he published his first short stories in Carolina Magazine, for which Thomas Wolfe had written.'

0 0 Reply
Bri Edwards 08 November 2023

the author: 'He attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he earned a B.A. in journalism in 1941. (cont.)

0 0 Reply
Bri Edwards 08 November 2023

p.s. If anyone is interested in some more tame 'history', you may try my History Of The Pen..(the writing instrument; includes some history I think of paper and ink) . I may or may not have a history of books. ;) bri

0 0 Reply
Bri Edwards 08 November 2023

Yes, next time the U.S. will let Hitler rule Europe and maybe The Americas and Japan rule the Orient and maybe Australia. So THERE! ! ! : )

0 0 Reply
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