Aircraft Mechanic In Situ

The tall tails greeted me
Bathed in golden liquid sunrise
Just as they had
Thousands of times before

Static in the still air
Crouched potential
Seemingly ready to spring into the sky

The same left turn down hangar row
That I'd made for the first time
More than twenty years ago
Now marked by some new hangars
Newer types of aircraft
Fresh young faces
With so many new names

Then
 I learned
And I broke a lot of things
Slowly learning to heal instead of hurt
And never would have guessed
That I'd still be here two decades later

Now
I watch
And I try to teach what I remember
To keep the metal in the air
For as long as it needs to be
And never planning
On where I may be two decades hence

Though let's be honest
I'll probably still be here