Flight Deck Mornings

by David Worden

​Flight Deck Mornings
​
​Sitting on the deck you feel the coldness of the steel
​Yet far beneath the steel emits a radiant heat
​Sitting there tired and beat, sad of life and full of pride
​Observe the sun as it sets on high.

​Water bluer then any color in a crayon box
Reminders of a man and his blue ox
Skin of the ship is gray, the color of a sad and dismal day
We call the color haze-gray and underway.

You wear your protective clothes, vest, gloves, goggles, cranial,
And let not forget Mickey Mouse ears.
Ears to protect you so you can hear.
​Sounds of engines, jets, catapults and steams escaping the bowels of the ship
​Lest not forgets the people hollering, reminding us to slow down so we don’t trip
Bells, whistles, horns and such
Then there are the speakers that tell us much.

​As planes, jets and helicopters engines turn you feel the burn
​The burn is in many places you see, there’s the fire that burns in me,
​The one to join them in that place on high, it is the one that makes me sigh
​Then the burn from the heat, heat as intense as any desert can be
​The deck hard beneath your feet makes your legs strong and lean
​Keeping your head on a swivel makes all of your senses keen.

Taste the salt in the air as it sticks to your face
You get the burning sensation in that awkward place.
There is a thickness in the air, one that you taste as you breathe
It is the fuel from the jets, planes, tractors and ship that you breathe
Chewing on the air as you inhale
Watching your breath as you exhale.

Your nose hairs twinge with a scent of the exhaust
These are scents that seem to be lost
​The smell of bacon comes from below
​A wonderful smell erodes
​Breakfast is done or so it would seem
​Or is this yet another one of my dreams

​Then a sound comes over the five-MC
And it is time for me to move, to work, to run
For I am a flight deck sailor and to me this is fun
This is the truest form of living life for me.

David Worden served in the both the U.S. Army (Infantry) and Navy (Aviation), retiring after a collective 23 years of service to his country (1984 – 2007). His military deployments took him to 5 of the 7 Continents and all 5 of the Oceans. He currently works in the DOD industry and is an Adjunct Professor for ERAU. As the parents of six young adults, he and his wife Wendy are awaiting the next adventure that their empty nest will produce.