Takeoff Poem by Gert Strydom

All the sticks of paratroopers are harnessed
and a myriad of expressions
are displayed on the different faces
when the big engines of the Hercules
are started up one after the other

and we feel the body
of the big aeroplane vibrating
before it starts moving
to the runway
where it strains against the brakes
while every engine starts wining
louder and louder.

With brakes off it starts accelerating
with getting airborne
the only idea in the pilots mind
with buildings, vehicles and the control-tower
rushing by as if in an instant
and suddenly the vibrating is gone
and we are flying
with the earth dropping away.