GAGARIN AND COLUMBUS
Brave or foolhardy
He was a dreamer of voyages
Into unexplored, unknown, undiscovered country,
The first to pursue the visionary images
That few had even seen clearly.
On an odyssey in void or foam
Many followed his footsteps on
The path but did not return home;
And fell over the edge of the horizon
With no return to Ithaca’s loam.
The face of an entirely new world
Never before seen mentally or visually :
He reached over the horizon and touched
It, as his voices told him this was all folly,
With no light, no chart unfurled.
……………………………………………………………..
NOTES:
(a) This poem was written to commemorate the 50 th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s
spaceflight.
(b ) Ithaca was the home of Odysseus.
(c) “voices…..folly “ is based on T S ELIOT’S lines in Journey of the Magi.
(d) Gagarin, Columbus, Odysseus, Eliot were all undertaking a journey into the unknown.
When given the choice of what road to take,
Sometimes I choose right; sometimes I mistake,
But I go forth with a smile and a laugh
On my journey down the less beaten path.
That road travelled by many before
Is the passage I most likely ignore.
I journey ahead with no directions or map
Always going forward and never turning back.
Sometimes I end up in a place unknown;
Sometimes twists and turns I’ve been thrown,
But always excitement accompanies me
On my life’s amazing journey.
This isn’t the lifestyle for the mild or the meek;
For those who need structure this journey is bleak,
But then, if this philosophy worked for everyone,
The road less travelled would be the most travelled one.
So, follow the crowd if that’s what suits you,
Perhaps we will meet up again;
I’ll take the path followed by few
Wondering where it will end.
By, Joe Flach
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