I had a instructing colleague, older than I used to be, who trainedas a pilot for the struggle. Fortuitously that was over earlier than he hadto fly a mission. I suppose he was relieved, though he neversaid so. An affable, ready man, however one who lacked skilled
ambition. He preferred to take a seat by home windows so he might see the sky.And even within the midst of timetable or syllabus deliberationshe would look away, lookup, and if the solar was there in greetinghe would smile to himself and say—blue sky state of affairs rising.
Taken with type permission from the fantastic new assortment of poems Past the Border by Owen Marshall (Quentin Wilson Publishing, $30), obtainable in bookstores nationwide. Requested by the NZ Booklovers website, “If there have been a soundtrack to accompany the poems, what would you select?” he chosen ‘Nation Roads’ by John Denver and ‘Solely The Lonely’ by Roy Orbison.
