Seat 11a: Where Love Survived The Crash | Tony Denis

A metal bird crashed,
not alone, but with souls,
even the engines couldn't hold it,
as it fell too fast for last goodbyes.

And yet,
in a wreckage of hopes,
one breath remained in Seat 11A
not by strength, not by screams,
without even having to fight the sky.
Something science could not explain.

When I think of that seat,
I think of you,
the one who didn't walk into my life
with fanfare or a first-class ticket,
but somehow,
you sat in the seat that could have broken others.

In the cabin of my heart,
you sit in the safest place, 11A.
You didn't make it to number eleven,
you skipped the rankings and math.
Still, you didn’t make it to number one,
but a double one.

A proof
that love can survive any crash.

Poet's note: I shared this poem not just as a writer, but as someone carrying a heart full of grief, admiration and love. The recent Indian air crash shook something deep in me. So many lives were lost, but somehow, the person in Seat 11A survived. Hearing this is not the first time someone in that seat number has survived a crash makes 11A strike a chord. It reminded me of someone special in my life. Someone who, like 11A, stayed through the wrecks and didn’t let go. This poem is my way of honouring the miracle of survival, both in the plane and in the heart. It's for those who came into our lives and somehow stayed through every crash.