In a Room Up in the Sky

by Shirani Rajapakse


A plane flew into her face.
It happened many years ago,
but she still remembers
like it was last week. The plane
rose in the air
and took a turn towards
the building she was in. Then it dived in.

She was drinking her coffee
and waiting for the computer to start,
when she heard a noise of a bee
buzzing at her window. Except there could be
no bees near her window.
It was too high for any bees to fly.
But she looked up anyway.
And it was then she saw
the plane humming like a billion bees
swarm towards her window.
Then it thundered in
people and all. Her coffee mug
crashed to the ground and shattered
into a thousand and one little pieces.
And that’s all she recollects.


* * * * *

"In a Room Up in the Sky" is from Shirani Rajapakse's new collection Samsara (2022), https://www.amazon.com/Samsara-Shirani-Rajapakse/dp/6249972005/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7LBJVOPCGODS&keywords=shirani+rajapakse&qid=1677215221&sprefix=shirani+rajapakse%2Caps%2C233&sr=8-1

Shirani Rajapakse writes poetry and short stories. She’s the author of six books including Chant of a Million Women, winner 2018 Kindle Book Awards, USA as well as Gods, Nukes and a whole lot of Nonsense and I Exist. Therefore I Am, 2022 and 2019 State Literary Award winners, Sri Lanka. The latter was also shortlisted for the 2019 Rubery Book Awards, UK. Rajapakse’s work has won and been placed in other competitions including being highly commended for the 2022 erbacce-prize for poetry, UK. Her work appears in many journals and anthologies. 
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