Night Flight

By George Bilgere b. 1951 George Bilgere

I am doing laps at night, alone

In the indoor pool. Outside

It is snowing, but I am warm

And weightless, suspended and out

Of time like a fly in amber.

She is thousands of miles

From here, and miles above me,

Ghosting the stratosphere,

Heading from New York to London.

Though it is late, even

At that height, I know her light

Is on, her window a square

Of gold as she reads mysteries

Above the Atlantic. I watch

The line of black tile on the pool’s

Floor, leading me down the lane.

If she looks down by moonlight,

Under a clear sky, she will see

Black water. She will see me

Swimming distantly, moving far

From shore, suspended with her

In flight through the wide gulf

As we swim toward land together.

Biography

George Bilgere (1951—) has published five collections of poetry, most recently The White Museum which was awarded the 2009 Autumn House Poetry Prize. His third book, The Good Kiss (2002), was selected by Billy Collins to win the University of Akron Poetry Award. He has won numerous awards, including the Midland Authors Award, the May Swenson Poetry Award for his collection Haywire (2006), and a Pushcart Prize. Bilgere has . . .

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