Seaplane crashes off Miami Beach, killing at least 19
First there was the smell: as if we weren't
In a plane but a gas station. We joked that
It was an old junk heap we were riding in -
In the end, it got us back by proving us
More right than we wanted to be. A loud bang
And then the blaze consumed the last two rows,
People reduced to ash before the rest of us
Turned round. The flames reached up the aisle
Like a set of burning fingers. Some screamed
And some didn't believe. We dipped to the right,
And because I was next to the window, I saw
The wing come off before the smoke hid everything.
(That was the last time I ever saw the sky.)
The ones in front were killed by the impact,
The ones in the back by fire,
The ones in between by the cold green water.
It's so dark here, they'll never find me.
What's the point in looking? They should've
Looked for damaged parts before take-off;
We should've looked for another plane.
Anna Mendoza is a Bryn Mawr sophomore who coordinated a literary reading at the Kelly Writers House on Dec. 3, which featured 17 young writers from five colleges.
"Seaplane crashes off Miami Beach, killing at least 19" appeared in the Inquirer on Thursday, December 29, 2005.