Gremlin!

Is hatred and war capable of producing a physical entity?

He was posted to Squadron 74

With ten hours flying time,

He knew that he needed a hundred more

Or his life was on the line,

For Biggin Hill was a shambles then,

All craters and UXB's,

As fast as they ferried the Spitfires in

They were beaten down to their knees.

 

They were hit with Junkers 88's

And Dornier 17's,

They came in high and they came in low,

Like a swarm of angry bees,

They got the workshops, hit the stores,

In an all-out, mass attack,

While Michael Shaw bit his lip, and swore

He was going to get them back.

 

For a week or so he was on patrol

In a Spitfire group of six,

Learning how to control the beast

As he pulled back on the stick,

The leader taught him to watch his wing,

And keep his back to the sun,

To roll away to avoid the spray

From an ME 109.

 

'Don't waste your ammo, just get your sights

Fixed firm on the guy ahead,

A burst, three seconds of cannon shells

Is enough to see him dead.

Follow him down to confirm the kill

But watch for the one on your tail,

If you're not too quick, and you feel you're hit,

Pull back on the stick, and bail.'

 

In the second week, a Dornier

Flew under his starboard wing,

Like a graceful pencil, floating there

Like a bee that had lost its sting.

He peeled away and he fired a burst

That ripped it like tinsel foil,

But smoke had bloomed as the fire consumed,

And all he could smell was oil.

 

'You're blooded,' bantered the guy in Ops.,

'You're buying us all a drink!'

They party'd hard at the mess that night

So they wouldn't be forced to think.

For every kill was a young man's life

Though it wasn't for them to mourn,

And for Michael Shaw it was all-out war,

The reason that he'd been born.

 

He got three Junkers 88's

And thought that he'd gone to heaven,

The very next sortie out, he claimed

A Heinkel One Eleven;

'They shouldn't be over, bombing us,

We give as good as we get...'

But his eyes were tired and his mind was fired

With the kills that were out there yet.

 

His Squadron claimed three 109's

That were shepherding bombers in,

While Michael took two Junkers out,

But his mind was beginning to spin,

For out on the edge of his starboard wing,

He thought he saw something move,

He turned his head in a moment's dread,

Then felt he had nothing to prove.

 

He must be tired, he shook his head

To get all the cobwebs out,

But there was the shape on the starboard wing,

Once more, this time, no doubt.

A terrible creature with tapering ears,

Sharp teeth and an evil grin,

And a long, long tail, that was wrapped around

His starboard aileron.

 

He tried to bank, the stick was held

Rock solid, and stuck in its place,

He could only climb or dive, not roll

Nor peel away with grace,

He dived on down through the covering cloud

Right over an azure sea,

Then he glanced again at his starboard wing,

There was only a mystery.

 

At Ops he sought out the Group Captain,

And cleared his throat to speak,

'I must be tired... but sir, I swear...'

Then he looked down and shuffled his feet.

Could he dare to mention the thing he'd seen,

Would they think him raving mad?

The Group just patted his arm, and said:

'Well, it can't be all that bad!'

 

'I saw this thing, out on the wing,

I couldn't believe my eyes...'

'Oh yes, well Shaw, you'd not be the first

To hallucinate in the skies.

You've had an attack of the 'Gremlins', son,

It happens, you'd better just rest,

Get them to check out your oxygen,

It's part of the pre-flight test.'

 

A week went by, he scored more kills,

A Heinkel, a 109,

He thought the thing had been just a blip,

A sign of a tired mind,

But then, just after he pulled away

From firing a steady burst,

A face peered in at the cockpit shield,

A face that was more than cursed.

 

It seemed to cling quite effortlessly

With the help of its long, sharp claws,

It bared its teeth in a grin of sorts,

And saliva dripped from its jaws,

Its eyes were narrow, like tiny slits

As they squinted right through the screen,

And its tongue was forked, flicked back and forth

As Michael sat back, and screamed.

 

He dived, went into a barrel roll

Thinking to shake it free,

A Messerschmitt 109 was there

To compound his misery,

It rolled and followed him down, and then

A burst tore into his tail,

He had no choice, pulled back the stick,

Opened the hood, and bailed.

 

They found him out in an open field,

His parachute lay nearby,

They drove him back to the aerodrome

But they couldn't look in his eyes,

Like tiny slits, they peered in hate

And his tongue just wouldn't sit still,

He said: 'Just get me an aeroplane...

I have to go out, and kill!'

 

David Lewis Paget

Author's Note

For the uninitiated, a UXB is an unexploded bomb, a 109 is a Messerschmitt 109 WWII fighter plane, and Heinkel 111's, Junkers 88's and Dornier 17's were bombers. The Dornier was known as 'the Flying Pencil'.

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Wow! This one reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner, in which, he saw a monster on the wing of the airplane. The memory of that episode really brought this poem to life for me. Still, even without the memory, your poem would have brought its own self to life. Engaging, amazing, and always a thrill.

Love it!

Linda Marie Van Tassell

[ANTO]

pure brilliance David. And what a cool topic - can sheer hate result in manifestions of the physical - and why not? But then that means pure love also must be able to manifest in the physical realm - so why isnt Kim Kardashian sitting on my knee right now then ? lol
That would be lust, I reckon - not the same thing.
The story is so well told - that its over before the reader even realises - that what i call great writing DLP

[Una Xoto]

This is a wonderful piece. Being a history major/ dork I picked up on your terminology. You are clearly an amazing writer. This piece reminded invoked "A Shropshire Lad" meets "catch 22" in energy.

[Silver_Moon]

I could feel your character's hatred here... Honestly, I hate wars and I hate the feeling whenever I read or watch something about this. Though, I love the imagery and the content because it gives us at least a lesson about negative feelings and the impact on people. Sad yet true.

I enjoyed reading your poem. :)

[Silent Kim aka mizmetap..]

As always an excellent display of your unfaultering talent. Clear story that seems to grab inand take you for a ride, I could hear the whistling, and shots being fired. I could hear the bombs exploding. Even as they shared librations I could feel the tention of anticipation of what's to come next.

As always great work.

[C.T. Bailey]

We become what we fear don't we? Very nice write..classical in content. Gremlins...can come in all shapes and sizes...here as hate...but I've seen'em as love too. You kept me fully engaged with this. If it has wings and flys...I'm pretty much in favor of it. I am a third generation pilot. I have a few gremlin stories that have come from some of my flying experiences. My grandfather was a B-24 pilot. Great write David...please keep'em comin'.
Todd

[Norma J. Jessee]

Yes !!!!! You're back in your groove................ Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your stories move right along so smooth and effortlessly, like gliding on ice. The image you paint is so real so life-like that the reader becomes part of the tale. It was a harrowing ride but I made it safely to the ground unscathed. ........

Great work David, can't wait for the next tale. In the meantime I don't know quite what to do with this little gremlin that followed me home.lol

[Valentine]

World War 11 gee whiz, at first you had me flying along with the pilot..then to be so high up and high on the next kill that your mind would disillusion itself intlo seeing sights like this..whew..David where in the world did your mind come up with this one?? If you do not get all of these tales published some day soon it will be the world's waste..You are really amazing my friend..now I wonder if I should fly home next summer..God bless..Valentine And yes...I think hatred and war produces so much more than it accomplishes..even gremlins!