0330

0330 flight.

Like those 0330 helos and C-130s in Iraq.

That’s what this feels like.

Awaken, dress, and walk outside,

Into the hot darkness.

Eyes adjust.

Ambient light off in the distance

Slowly casts everything into focus.

Invisible sheets of heat wash over me

Like warm, thick waves

In an ocean of night.

Walk mute and zombie-like

To the point of departure.

Longing for the hot, amber nectar,

Just a quick shot to wake me up.

Climb aboard, stow my gear, sit down.

Go back to sleep,

As the beast now growls and lurches

Up into the black sky.

Glen Hines is the author of three books that make up the Anthology Trilogy — Document, Cloudbreak, and Crossroads — available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. His writing has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Task & Purpose, and the Human Development Project.