Pre-Flight Checklist

Keys, wallet, phone.
The Collected Works of Federico García Lorca.
Moleskin journal and ballpoint pen.
Mahogany chess board, Rubik’s Cub, and a framed photo
of your grandfather posing with Edward R. Murrow.
Comfortable shoes, down jacket rated to 38,000 feet.
Wings and feathers; compass, ice axe, rope.
Map of the Earth and, in case of emergency, of the stars.
A lifetime supply of guitar strings, guitar not included.
Bathymetric chart of the sea, mastery of whale-song.
Gifts for the people of Atlantis and Xanadu.
Your share of stolen jewels from the Louvre
and a list of paupers to hand them to.
Lock of Whitman’s beard, pailful of sand
from Omaha Beach, Normandy, 1944.
Ice sculpture of the Lincoln Memorial, signed copy
of the Gettysburg Address.
Graph of the Keeling Curve as of November 2nd, 2025.
Sword in the Stone, sword of Damocles.
Candles, incense, life-size statue of Avalokiteshvara–
his Thousand Hands soothing, just enough,
your megalomania.