~
An aviation sleight-of-hand:
Random flight plan
Strange admission
This war of attrition
No friendly skies
No wings of hope
Flagship wanderer
High above the clouds
Gliding like a phantom
Holding its place in line
By sailing incognito
Without a stitch of cargo
Or living company
No laughter
No banter
No bag of nuts
Nothing for the flight recorder
To remember
Only a lonely figure
In the cockpit
Throttling down
A descent into madness
Keeping slots warm
And bodies cold
~
“Ghost flights” of the aviation industry: Chartered to fly around the world – sometimes just around an airport – simply so airlines can hang on to takeoff and landing slots.