The Bronze Ocean
©2019 by me.

The sky above is a pale blue … the typical backdrop of the South Pacific. We are flying so high, I think I can see the curvature of the Earth. Far below us, a chaotic and broken sky roars mightily across the sea. The ocean is alternately lit by the brightest Sun then mottled with the long shadows of afternoon light, the darkness on the sea twisting and turning, and morphing constantly as the surface winds tear the clouds apart and they, just as suddenly, reform. Here and there, a squall forms and the tops of the clouds are suddenly illuminated from within, as if they were the veins and arteries of a living creature suddenly becoming fluorescent. Flashing … reaching … growing … fading … gone. High above, we float along as if on a bed of cotton, undisturbed by the angry scene far below us.

The hours pass … the shadows grow ever longer and the foaming seas grow even more tossed. The Sun moves farther and farther away from us and ahead, we see a much higher layer of clouds on the horizon … appearing out of the side-lit sky like an army of big fluffy cotton balls, and with unbroken seas beneath. As we approach our op area, we begin to descend beneath the leading edge of the cotton army … even as the Sun begins grazing nearly horizontally beneath their bottoms. Our world explodes into a dazzling bronze effulgence … leaving us stunned and amazed. The sea beneath us is an endless panorama of undulating molten bronze illuminated by metallic beams of light so vivid I feel I can reach out and weave them into a magical fabric. The bottom of the clouds shine like gleaming polished shields … shining so bright, t’would put the proudest Gaelic warrior to shame.
We fly into this tawny brass world as if in a dream. The industrial noises of the jet engine three feet to my left and the screaming computers and whining ventilation fans behind are gone … time stands still … we gape, unashamedly, in awe …

… and then it is gone …

“Uh Kilo Three Niner, Kilo Three Niner, this is Sawbuck seven zero three on station at this time, over.”