Hybrid: “The Flying Man” by Tanya Sangpun Thamkruphat

The Flying Man

On my morning walk, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. In the sky, I saw a man performing astounding aerobatic maneuvers like air show airplanes. He performed horizontal and vertical lines, loops, rolls, spins, and hammerheads. I signaled to him like a frantic air traffic ground controller. He stopped flying and levitated mid-air, posing. I asked the man how it was possible for him to fly. He answered that everything in life is possible. How cliché. Before I could ask the man more questions, he disappeared. 

The flying man wasn’t entirely wrong. After that day, I told people about the time I encountered a flying man. The story became instantly famous, launching my career as a renowned raconteuse. I wanted to thank the flying man for my career, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. Though, it was possible that I imagined the entire experience. Or, it was possible that I didn’t imagine it. As he had said, everything in life is possible. 

About Tanya Sangpun Thamkruphat

Tanya Sangpun Thamkruphat is a Thai-Vietnamese American poet. She is the author of Em(body)ment of Wonder (Raine and Rose Co., 2021). Her writing appears in Button Poetry, Z Publishing House, Roi Fainéant Press, and elsewhere. Currently, she lives with her two feline overlords and her partner in Southern California.