We were not built to sleep.
Or stay. Or slink in the shadows.
We were forged in the fires of primordial nebulae
To seek, to search, to know.
Born longing, we grow reaching.
First faces, then here, then out there.
As did the ancients, we look to our stars.
Stars of wonder, light, elsewhere.
As centuries pass, so too does the torch.
We stand upon the shoulders of giants.
Still we climb higher, held up by our histories.
To fear, to dark, to standing still; we are defiant.
We ask-
And from neurons that mirror that nebulae,
Knowledge is given.
We seek-
And from the wonder and the beauty,
We do find.
We knock-
On doors from the abyssal sea to the distant stars,
And they open to new horizons.
We are no cosmic accident.
We are stardust.
Longing, reaching, seeking.
Returning to celestial skies.
Faster, higher, stronger, together.
For all humanity,
We rise.
The auditorium was filled
With every class in school.
On stage, a small TV set sat –
For sure, too miniscule.
The year was ’61 or 2,
A spaceship set to go,
With either Alan Shepard
Or John Glenn; I do not know.
But we’d been prepped and we were psyched;
We watched in silent awe,
Though only those in front were sure
Of what they really saw.
I though of that last night as I
Was fixed on my TV
To watch the capsule slowly drift
And plop into the sea.
To many younger folk, this wasn’t
Much of a big deal.
They couldn’t quite experience
What those my age did feel
Remembering so long ago
When space was the frontier
We thought we’d conquer, but that was
A different atmosphere.
This is not A.I.
Up there in the darken sky
Where astronauts fly
Accomplishing a heavenly ride
Pictures they took
Perfect for the global Instagram scrapbook
Allowing everyone a peek
Admiring the skyrocketing pecking cheek
Isn’t that sweet?
Reflecting upon the spaceship heat
Duet rekindling a romance
And dance
Expressing galactic vows
Circulating the day end bow
Performing a musical tune
Artemis waltzes around the illuminating moon
Ready to depart
Softening the international diplomatic heart
Exclaiming ‘gee’
Both stating ‘do you love me’
Heading home and everybody will see
Sporting Saturn rings
Showing off souvenir bling
Fore who completed a mission
Proving someone’s scientific vision
Life does exist throughout the stars
And we are proud to know who they are
The four brave souls on Artemis II
Flew far away right out of view
The dark side of the moon they did see
They hit a snag when they tried to wee
But no problem if they needed to poo.
Earth appears serene from outer space
Showing not a trace of who hates whom,
A cloudy veil shields her face as if modesty prevails
In the cosmic beauty of nebulae and galaxies~
Five billion years from now who will remember?
NOTE; The Sun is expected to die in approximately 5 billion years. Currently, at about 4.6 billion years old, it is middle-aged and will continue to burn hydrogen for another 5 billion years before running out of fuel. It will then expand into a red giant, likely consuming inner planets before fading into a white dwarf.
Sleet licking its tongue at my window.
Leaves its icy gift on the glass panel.
Logs on the fire still give their glow,
To objects seen in the mirror on the mantle.
Need Apollo share with Artemis his cloak!
On this cold and tempestuous night.
That dark star-spangled overcoat
Keeps from frost with its warmth so right.
The sun has set and retired beyond the shade,
Though its golden faded trace is yet seen.
The moon prepares to begin its promenade,
Making midnight shadows dance in its gleam.
As hearths nobly extend their gentle heat,
The sun consoles itself in a cloudy bed.
Then sweet dreams and solace meet,
As moon tips his cap and bows his head.
She came in silence where the cedars sway,
A lunar hush beneath the argent trees.
The serpentine wind curled words she wouldn't say—
Just breaths and bow and coolness on the breeze.
Her sisters moved like stars in cascade flight,
The Hunters, free of longing, fierce and far.
Their eyes held depths no lover dared to write,
Each step a hymn beneath a myriad star.
A nebula of dreams unfurled inside,
As if I’d slept too long beneath a name.
She left a lilt, like wildness in the tide,
And something warm that had no need for flame.
No plea shall slither near and stay—
For she lives in me, the break from day.
ABORT ABORT
but Donaldson was already drifting
further and further away from us
the thickness of his suit decreasing
as his courageous kindness
floated on within his demise
and all I could do was stare panic stricken
through the small window's cruelness
as the white speck of my friend
became more and more surrounded
by the blackness of space
far removed from everything that existed
and I wondered if Donaldson would
explore the universe forever
A journey landing in December
Road to the Moon of wonder
Trip of four to remember
East of Eden fonder
Milestone is in the offing
Instilled dream becomes a happening
Strobe lights showing and playing
Second-scheduled mission, but first crewed...
Staring, smirking, salivating men
You are the bane of my existence
How dare you defile my temple with your lustful eyes
I await the day where I get my chance
To unleash my wrath, gifted from Artemis
Ascending out of Zeus
Apollo's twin sister
Also rules many realms
Among them, wildlife, moon
An eternal virgin
A very skilled hunter
Able in shape-shifting
2-20-2022
Example For Contest
With a beautiful glowing face
And a red lip line
Eyes, brushed with smoky grey foam
Stands a girl, with stars all blown
Into a splendid silver gown
Turning the dust into angelic wings
Showering light all through the spring
Makes the little moon, all
Mystery to me.
I shot a bow and arrow
I didn't kill a sparrow
Hit target on first buy
righteous twas bulls-eye
I did not hunt for deer
though I kept one near
There is a misconception
concerning my reputation
For one I don't shape-shift
not a holy type of gift
No harm done to Orion
no heads of the Mayan
I am mentioned in the Bible
as revered and not tribal
I condone not being worshiped
I assist my fellow merchant
I aid those not so blessed
as well as those who guessed
I hope this clears things up
one day we'll dine and sup
She moved like no other two-legged creature.
The wolves kept their howls on reserve, watching.
She was stealthy, determined, made her way quickly.
Reeds and grasses whispered her name in low breaths.
It is the Goddess Diana, a cattail shared with Luna moth.
Luna moth had never seen such a beauty; she was exquisite.
Daughter of Jupiter, oak said to acorn. Acorn agreed to be stepped on.
Diana stepped around instead, careful to nurture nature’s smallest.
Mushroom fairies came out to dance in the moon light,
Feeling safe now that Artemis had arrived; Greek roots you know.
We call her Diana, elves and brownies said. Name did not matter.
She was patron saint of hunting, moon, nature and fertility,
And she was magnificent!
I tread a boundless earth
The vines rush to adore my feet
Mistress of the rare I am
Up above canopies cover my stead
I tempt the winds, the tide
Even the sun knows not to tame me
Endless is my spirit wild
All around,
My minions look at me with awe
Oh how great they say I could be
Radiant and free
Yet my heart stops - leaps - throbs
Of something now I cannot be
Of something still I must then be
A fire unfelt, a well unfilled
How may then? How will then?
I know not still.
But this I feel
I look at the stars tonight and see
Gleaming diamonds of dwarfish light
Away and unsure but yet
I envy them.
Up there they are nothing compared to me.
They are hundreds while I
In solitude tonight am here
To cry - far away from sight
Beneath the darkness, beneath the bright
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