And so as we take off the cheerful man in the seat next to me, with his giant RAF watch with gold wings for hands and his crowned winged badge in his lapel and his blazer with brass buttons, asks me if I understand the principles of flight.
He takes out his pen and draws me a diagram on his paper, explaining in a friendly voice about wing shape, drag and lift and airflow. It is all a question of balance. I understand. It is the same impossibility with love.
Later, I point out the light auras on the propellers, how they look like cartoon drawings. Ah yes, he says, the haloes and he smiles.
Rose Cook is a writer based in Devon. Her poetry was published by HappenStance with Everyday Festival (2009) and by Oversteps Books with Taking Flight (2009).