I’m glad to have my poem recently published in the San Diego Poetry Annual. Happy 20th Anniversary SDPA! I invite you to read my piece and addendum below.
After Transition of Power – 2025
From North Island
on a misty morning two crew
parachuted out of a Navy jet into
San Diego Bay near Shelter Island.
The empty EA-18G Growler
careened over the Kona Kai,
zoomed above La Playa, looped over
Catalina and Point Loma University.
Fast and fierce the plane shrieked
louder and lower than ever, shook
my bed, windows, and doors.
Were we at war?
Toward the bay an eerie quiet
ensued as it slammed into the cove.
How could something so horrifying
happen here in paradise? Was it
God’s grace the $67,000,000 plane
didn’t annihilate innocents?
The following day I walked the bay,
osprey nest bare, another jet scream swiftly
filled the air, my heart lurched as I bent low.
“The cause of the crash is under investigation.”
Will we ever know what truly happened?
Is it symbolic of our country’s chaotic
transition of power or because of it?
Addendum: A Navy investigation report—obtained by the Union-Tribune through the Freedom of Information Act a year after the crash—found human error caused the accident, resulting in a $109 million military loss. Furthermore, the report says that the jet issued a warning during aerial refueling, and attributes the crash to a “confluence of factors,” including adverse weather, poor crew resource management, low aircraft currency and proficiency, and the crew’s limited familiarity with the newly instituted H18 software.
Do you remember when this happened?