"Being Howard Hughes"

"Being Howard Hughes"
by Gilbert Trillana

You wake up one morning,
And stare far away
Toward trees dying...
As far as eyes could see.
Having known your legacy,
You sit up straight,
And stare beyond the limelight,
Amidst the vastness of wings.

What paleness in spirit
Shallows the dreams of the meek,
Like you've never felt before.
No matter what happens,
You try to envision...
Wings that could go,
As long as Mir Solar Panels.

You poured all your money to it...
Gave it all you got,
Until nothing more is left.
Though times are hard to labour.
Dusk shall rule over the earth,
While dawn shall inherit the waters;
Still, it is time to fly.

A gust of wind wallows your face,
As you climb aboard your creation... Majestic as it seems.
People in awe and in disgust are everywhere, Like the ants that cuts leaves like madmen. You sit down and stare,
Throughout the watery expanse,
Of all that is noble and pure.
The sense of flight seethes like fire,
With every turn of your wheel.
Taste and see the light!

You went off the waters far and free,
Pulling yourself for everyone to see...
What joy and pain hath brought you forth
As you glide along the blues a few feet high. Twenty seconds, you then thought,
Is all it takes to change the world.
Twenty-billion people, then
Is all we need to change the planet.

Mighty ships go down with their captains, With nothing left to spare.
You then cross your fingers
and cringe in fear
While pushing down with care.
A gust of wind turns to a gush of blue,
The water slices you.
The morals of all that is impossible
Is now yours for the taking.


You then climb down,
Reluctant and proud,
Of mixed responses from the crowd.
You tip off your hat,
And walk away briskly...
Through the gates that no man sees.

Mirthful and champion,
Of all that is mundane,
You wave towards the people and sky.
Not knowing their hidden smiles
Of what life offers them,
You give them your best,
Regardless of your efforts
In goodness and in sin.

And the wings that you harness,
As light as a feather,
Glows brightly under the sun.
Welcoming the world
With open arms,
Of what it can do to change yourself,
Live either in cities or in farms.

What does one get
From an eccentric mind like yours?
An innocence like none other.
Perhaps that what lacks us all,
The dreams that we heed,
Of things no one can fathom...
Beyond the dismal,
Uncaring world around us...
The world reality brings.

G.J.