The ghost in the flying casket
switched the engines to stop.
The day was too hot;
they wanted a nap.
The faces converged,
solemn and mission ready;
looked at the charred remains
and took the oath of
total obscurity.
The pilots were at fault,
told the report:
yet never said those words.
It only said there was no
mechanical fault.
No blame game,
after all, it is business.
A few lives lost in the sky
should never erode
the investors’ wealth.
O those rats still burrow
into the ground.
A call from the ivory tower
shall tell them to stop.
They are now fed and content,
offshore bank balances
kissing the moon's buttock.
If blood has to be shed,
let that be in the skies:
passengers buy tickets
for perambulation,
not guarantee-of-life.
O ghosts of charred remains,
I pray for forgiveness.
My English, charred and impotent,
is less eloquent than your silent words.
Can it ever describe
how you felt:
when the casket burst in flames,
when it dawned on you,
you were breathing your last,
or you would return to your loved ones-
Never?
O Captain, why can't you take the stand?
Don't you hear the cries of dead and alive?
Why do you want to be the hero
bearing the burden of ghosts?
But I forget,
your charred remains in the wreckage.
When the gavel shall hit the table,
'Guilty' shall be written against your name;
yet, you shall be the unsung hero
for saving the business.
-
Author:
Rebellion In Sanity (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: February 5th, 2026 02:44
- Comment from author about the poem: My hommage to the victims of AI 171 (BOEING 787 DREAMLINER). The preliminary report said both fuel switch were found to be in cut-off, definitely done intentionally. A few days back in another 787 one of the fuel switchs transitioned to cut-off twice. But it was cleared to fly. This happened in Nippon Airways too - silence. Pilot error, retrain pilots etc. Business must go on, the shareholders must not suffer. Right?
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 8
- Users favorite of this poem: Friendship, Paul Bell
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Comments5
Where there is demand there is business. In this world flight seems the only answer to people's demand to travel. When one person holds many lives in their hands there is always an opportunity to display discontent and in the whole process there is always those that profit. Business must go on. A poem of madness on all levels
Thank you so much for your kind support. Appreciate your review and comments enormously. 🙏
You are most welcome
Well written. Your poem revolves around the tragic consequences of corporate negligence and the human cost of prioritizing business interests over safety. It reflects on the disconnect between the financial motives of those in power and the devastating impact on individuals' lives, particularly in the context of an aviation disaster.
Thank you very much for your visit and comment. Appreciate your support 🙏
Yes, all those planes might be mechanically sound, but that doesn't mean they're softwear sound.
You don't get many chances in a plane full of technology. I know they say the fuel swithches have to be swithched off manually, but thay would say that if it was a softwear problem.
A big thanks for your read and comment. Appreciate your support 🙏.
And then you have the case of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, shot down over eastern Ukraine in July 2014. Now despite a high profile company of bull shitters (and I mean high profile - Governments et al - research it for yourselves) placing the blame squarely on Russia (BTW I don’t believe Russia should be at war with Ukraine), the simple fact is that at that time, the place where MH17 was shot down was a known theatre of war. Should never have been there in the first place.
A very committed piece yours – good to see.
I feel glad that you felt the spirit with which it was written. Please accept my thanks for your support 🙏
Reading this, I felt that familiar sickness that comes when accountability dissolves into procedure. The way you hold space for the victims while naming the machinery that moves on regardless feels honest and necessary. Well done, my friend! 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
It feels like a burden lifting being able to convey what I thought should have been said. Your visit and comment made me feel happy. Thank you 🙏
I am glad, my friend. Most welcome!
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