The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Myles

Ahead of His Time

assumed it was another case of birds and a plane

this time a crane,
responsible for a crash, a flight that ended tragically

the plane he was on with eight other persons
all of whom perished, crashed into a crane

I suppose it was a bird, said he

relating the story to me

far away in Kisii, Kenya

Kenyan professor, PhD candidate

at a university in South Africa

had only just read the story
in a local, Kisii newspaper

Myles Munroe is dead, he said

he, his wife, Ruth
and seven others, perished in a plane crash

it was the crane that the plane had crashed into that he was unsure about

that he concluded must have been a bird

I recalled a jet that went down and later it was found

that it had sucked in a flock of birds

not the ingredient it needed
mixed in with the air

such an engine sucks in

OMG, was it a bird again
responsible for this crash, these deaths

was a bird to blame

crashed into though

would not have been the way

the language to relate it if a bird was or birds were involved

crashed into implies

something standing still

not birds in flight

or a bird in flight

I thought in a flash, looking back reflecting upon

what Peter Mose related to me

and recalled cranes erected
to construct skyscrapers

other tall structures,
jutting high into the sky

and concluded

that this did fit better

the idea of something crashing into something

went online as soon as I was able to

read one of several articles
available there

and sure enough

it was a crane made of metal

made of steel

and not a bird at all

responsible for Myles
falling from the sky plane with his wife, crew of nine in all
perishing in a rain storm.

OBEDIAH SMITH

Nassau,

November 13, 2014.