what jeff and i told Michelle before her trip across the midatlantic

you don't really have to duck,
or shield your head
when the plane goes down.
there is no protection, just comfort
a fallacy to soothe,
the damned,
the life jackets and exit rafts,
never saved anyone
lost at sea

I was swallowed by a whale
that mistook me for plankton,
Imagine! how small
Jonas felt when he heard
the voice of god, that is-
the sigh
of everything being alright
and
everything will be alright.