Jetliner by Naoshi Koriyama

"Jetliner"

Now he takes his mark
At the farthest end of the runway
Looking straight ahead, eager, intense
With his sharp eyes shining

He takes a deep, deep breath
With his powerful lungs
Expanding his massive chest
His burning heart beating like thunders

Then… after a few… tense moments… of pondering
He roars at his utmost
And slowly beings to job
Kicking the dark earth hard
And now he begins to run
Kicking the dark earth harder
Then he dashes, dashes like mad, like mad
Howling, shouting, screaming, and roaring

Then with a most violent kick
He shakes off the earth's pull
Softly lifting himself into the air
Soaring higher and higher and higher still
Piercing the sea of clouds
Up into the chandelier of stars

-Naoshi Koriyama

In this poem, Naoshi Koriyama portrays a large and powerful Jetliner as a simple runner or long jumper. It has been disputed if Naoshi is really speaking of a long jumper, and not a runner, in this analysis I hope to prove that Naoshi is really speaking of a long jumper starting his run and lunging himself into the air. I will also break down each individual stanza and present its Imagery and compare the Jetliner to the Long jumper.

Now he takes his mark
At the farthest end of the runway
Looking straight ahead, eager, intense
With his sharp eyes shining

In this stanza he shows the runner's thoughts and intense few moments before he begins to run. The runner waits impatiently, looking at his mark a few meters away, waiting for his moment to lunge into the air. His concentration is focused completely on the sand. Nothing will faze him as he stares intently on the sand.
The Jet sits waiting on the end of the runway, waiting for clearance to take off. The pilots wait and follow through their routine last minute pre-flight checks. The plane sits, ready to take off and begin its flight.
Naoshi Koriyama alternates between his descriptions of a Man waiting to run to a Plane waiting to take off, but