Eric Flies Again
“You captured a feeling, and that is not an easy thing to do…the phrase about loads bigger than a C-130 can carry is spot-on.”
–Eric
I was sitting in a C-130, how I got there doesn’t matter
just a field trip for a grown-up club, friends and strangers, nervous laughter
The guy beside me came from way up north, he said his name was Eric, then,
“I loaded one of these sixty years ago full of broken boys and medics”
He said the years were long, some nights are even longer
but lately he thinks he might be a little stronger
so on a bright September day, wheels rumbling down the runway…
Eric flies again
Eric flies again
out there in the clouds are memories and friends
Eric flies again
He did his hitch at nineteen, he thought the Air Force might be fun
riding high in Asian skies above the grunts and mud and blood
He didn’t mind the hours loading pallets, loading tanks
but he didn’t count on dying men of every race and rank
He said the years were long, some nights are even longer
but lately he thinks he might be a little stronger
so on a bright September day, wheels rumbling down the runway…
Eric flies again
Eric flies again
out there in the clouds are memories and friends
Eric flies again
That old loadmaster knows some loads weigh more
than any Hercules can hold
Eric flies again
Eric flies again
out there in the clouds are memories and friends
Eric flies again
