Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
Aero-laughterRobert M. McAlmon
From “Flying”
Y
Until the world
Has been beneath you
A mosaic map of lines and dots,
Called roads and mountains
By minute moving spots
Named men.
The jollity
Of this petty panorama!
Overcome with mirth,
Ripples in air pockets
With uncontrollable lurches,
Nosing down with a dart
To frighten the tiny earth;
Then recovers, fleeting
To heights beyond eyes’ seeing,
Far from ears’ hearing,
You are all tense
With the comedy of life
And the world’s being.
Chortle gleefully with you.
The moon beams,
Benignly sharing your joy.
Thinking: “I laugh!
The world?—rather one world,
The buffoon of them all.”