Homecoming

The being stared with compound eyes up into the starry skies A being nothing like a man but still part of evolution's plan Across the black and starry night shot a flashing burning light This ancient world had air so thin it did not burn up coming in Losing heat by radiation and by its heat shield's slow ablation The object hit the ground at last and lit the night sky with its blast The being ran back to its home A burrow with an earthen dome And down that tunnel it did dive into a vast, world spanning hive Then with others of its kind the fallen star it hoped to find Although, like man, these beings were not Like man, intelligence they'd got Many miles and hours later they found the object in a crater A mangled pile of metal there Showing signs of ancient wear The object had some strange designs Maybe writing, perhaps just lines There was a disc of golden hue What it was they had no clue The disc was dull and much corroded By time and particles eroded But still were seen upon its face images from a long gone race Three times the galaxy had turned since the probe's jets had last burned The people of its home at last lost in mists of ancient past Designed by man and sent away in hopes of finding life one day A message sent from all mankind encased in gold for them to find The cosmos, circumnavigated It's now returned, though much belated No more through deep space would it roam 'Voyager 2' at last came home