‘This is your Captain speaking’ <br />The voice ground out with gravity. <br />I suddenly sat up straight in my seat <br />To hear what was the calamity! <br />Yes, we had ascended successfully, <br />Levelled off and headed for London- <br />But we seemed to be lacking in thrust <br />So my feelings were somewhat deflated. <br />‘We have been told by Shannon control <br />That a hatch has been left open’ <br />Oh Lord our God I said ‘What? ’ <br />And he added ‘There’s no safety risk <br />At all and we are returning to Shannon’. <br />As he turned around there wasn’t a sound <br />Nor a sight of our pretty hostesses. <br /> <br />I thought of the news at five seven live <br />And cast the bad thought from my mind; <br />After all of this crisis without any crash <br />We had our hatch shut up in Shannon. <br /> <br />Beside me sat a young businessman, <br />With a hint of a beard of maturity, <br />Who had been asleep quite oblivious; <br />But on the second time round <br />He awoke back on the ground <br />And I told him of all that had happened. <br /> <br />Needless to say he was taken aback, <br />Thinking he was landed safely in England; <br />So we laughed at our lot as airborne we got <br />While the Captain made up for delaying us! <br />And all of a sudden the staff reappeared <br />To serve tea from behind the drawn curtains <br />And instead of landing in London at five <br />We were happy we landed at half-past-alive!<br /><br />Matt Mooney<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/this-is-your-captain-speaking/