Leafing reverently through the rare yellowed pages ,
that priceless leatherbound masterpiece ,
what was it again ?

Steady now !

Let me focus these windy thoughts a moment .
We're not the ace we once were .

Yes of course !
Through the looking glass ,
Carroll's equally opiumed sequel .

They don't make them like that anymore .... pity .

We're a dying breed too , you know .
Our notoriety once legendary .
How the ladies would swoon ,
at the merest mention of our elevated stature .
Now , they're lucky to stand .

I never misplaced the memory rainbow of your scent .
So invigorating !

Nostalgia skirts the edges of this mind ,
like a voracious shark encircling .
I'm still coherent enough to remember it .
Just like it was yesterday .

How we rained down on them ,
109's caught in our deluge .
Drenched through and through .
We haloed rings around them .
How they admired our parade ,
jealously coveting our ticket tape .

Remember that time we left too quick in druken haste ?
We left our guard down .

Ha ! Ha! Ha !

The whole squad was chagrinned .
Didn't we feel like mangy dogs ,
our tails between our legs !
Jerry wondering ,
if it wasn't some first April's ploy .

You spurn to life once more .

Sputter ! Sputter ! Sputter !

Chattering noisily , your acquiescence ,
at our renewed friendship .
These old bones won't ever revert .
Dignity slowly bleaching away ,
before the constant onslaught of whithering .

I guess ,
there are some battles we're not meant to win .
No worry matey ,
we'll chatter together ,
one last time .

I'll lead as usual ,
and you'll follow .
You always seemed to read me .

We danced with a perfect accord .
You like an extension of these hands .

Those wings strung ,
just as resilient as always .
Your wounds all healed ,
with the acrid tang of fresh paint .
Sparking up drunken melodies .

United we stand ! Divided we fall !

Lines of flame plume ,
marking our blazing chorus .
An acrobatic swath that others mimicked ,
though never emulated .
These tarnished medals a lasting testament ,
to our fleeting glory daze .

Now , we find ourselves ,
amongst the final roll call .
The curtain falls upon our bonded tenure .
This chapter steeped in closure ,
this last run done .

Fear not old ally of decades ,
there shall be others .
Pretenders ,
aspiring to share your spirit .
But none more to relive the adrenal pulse .
Dividing about near misses ,
and frantic close calls .

Your temper gutted long ago ,
your rage fallen silent .

Resplendently , in times now faded in museums ,
we set the skies afire .