Jeff Day, Pilot

by Ken Waldman

Jamming two full lives in one,
everything a man could want: loving
family, a frontier home with wild music
friends who played tunes fast. Work meant

daily adventure, an excuse to rise
above clouds, view what few could.
You flew past us all, pilot,

passionate to find heaven.
It seemed so beautiful, a third
life so high that it felt like wide-
open dream. Then you went down,
taking so much with you.