What were you thinking as you pushed those trolleys through Zaventem?
Were you calculating how many minutes, seconds you had left
Was every surreal detail amplified
The incessant rumble of a suitcase wheel
The bright pink silk in a stewardess’s blouse?

What were you thinking as your eyes rested on the family at check-in?
Were you wondering which of them would live or die
The excited young girl in a blue corduroy dress
her ribbon slipping down the shiny braid of hair
Or her smiling father, hand resting gently on his wife’s waist?

What were you thinking as the time drew nearer?
Were you remembering the taste of your last breakfast
The flaky pieces of pastry
cascading onto your plate like exploded tiles
Or that final swallow of hot sweet tea?

What were you thinking?

Or were you cold-hearted
Deciding where to stand
to inflict maximum carnage?
Thinking only of the brothers
who would whisper your name with reverence?

Tell me.
What on earth were you thinking?