Prayer on a Plane

They told me to sit, the turbulence
Demanded restraint, seatbelts on.
Under careful attendant surveillance 
I sat, tefillin bound  and tallit wrapped. 

Odd not to stand; I had not thought
To ask a Rav about prayer on a plane;
Perhaps later I’ll find out what is taught:
Do I pray or do I refrain?

The time might have been off:
Morn from where I came, eve
To where I go. The call tough
As I wing to Tel Aviv.  

I needn’t calculate which way to face,
The plane’s heading pointed the way,
We flew towards the tradition’s point of grace,
Sitting or standing, east to the dawning day.