The movie starts
shortly after takeoff.
By the time we cross
the Caribbean Sea,
Tom Cruise changes identity,
intercepts an armoured convoy in Paris,
flown a burning helicopter
into a mid-air collision over Kashmir
and saves the world
from a nuclear disaster.
The young couple
seated behind me
still haven’t figured out
how to calm their baby.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, writes for Blacklock’s each and every Sunday)