It’s strange to see the runway now,
The pavement seems to wait,
The sky, thank God, a brilliant blue,
The windsock hanging straight.

I gaze along the silent ramp,
The aircraft row on row,
Their polished skins catch morning’s light,
They wait the coming show.

I ask myself where it began,
This dream I hold so dear,
A vision forms from time gone by,
For this we’ve worked all year.

So long I peered in wonder,
Through fences ten feet high,
At magic ships, just out of reach,
That flew a distant sky.

Today no chain link blocks my view,
The open gates swing wide,
They’re mine at last, to touch, to see,
At Airshow, just inside.

A year has passed since first we set,
The date that this day brings,
It seems to me in months that fled,
We’ve learned a thousand things.

The sponsors finally came on board,
The acts arrived on time,
The famous planes a young boy dreamed,
Now face me on the line.

The port-a-pots stand ready,
A mile of fence in place,
Now throngs of people pouring in
Dear Lord, I hope there’s space.

The smells of cooking fill the air,
The P.A. barks its sound,
Inside I’m like a runner poised,
My heart begins to bound.

A mighty Merlin springs to life,
And now the dream is real,
A jet team thunders down the line,
And someone spills their meal.

And so it goes, a day of days,
The Airshow fills the skies,
But Oh! the best was just to see,
The look in childrens’ eyes.

And now it’s done, the Airshow passed
We start to pack the gear,
And as we work I know inside,
Our thoughts are on next year.

by Patrick J. Phillips