Chemtrail Comfort

"When you think you've seen everything
You'll find we're living in days like these
Say you only take what you bring
Maybe that's just the way they speak
- Days Like These, by Low



A plane passes overhead
I don't see it, nestled inside my home under a blanket
though I hear the familiar sound of the engine
soaring up and away into the night sky

It's comforting, I find
and I think of when the pandemic first hit
how I was cocooned inside out of necessity
and my apartment patio was a safe space for me
From there I would note signs of life;
cars on the road, people doing workouts in parking lots and porches since the gyms were closed, and airplanes passing overhead

It was a relief to see chemtrails cross the sky
for it felt like something normal,
as though if people could still get on an airplane and travel
then things surely weren't that bleak

I've been on a plane many times in the year and a half since
I've worn a mask, been vaccinated, and moved apartments
I've gotten married, and become pregnant
Life is changed, yet continues onwards, and I don't need airplanes overhead to be reminded of the momentum
yet they are comforting, nonetheless

Where are they going? those people passing overhead
They're finding ways of going on with their lives
It feels like a vow of good hope
one I don't want to take for granted
so I remind myself of that when I hear those engines or see that familiar white streak
passing like a promise
through the sky.