The Lunatics

They gaze upon this timeless sphere:
It bounds element from aether.
As cloud above begins to clear
On knowing they do teeter.

Now gilded angels leap across
Magnificent desolation.
A billion souls bear witness to
The triumph of a nation.

Though five of six do follow suit –
Méliès’ itinerary –
Man tires of the combat boot,
And the Chill which made him wary.

Decades reel and wonder turns
To apathy and doubt.
And yet. A part of us must yearn
To end this cosmic drought.

We gaze beyond that barren rock
Half to Venus, half to Mars.
Gravity, it pins us down to
To this prison… Au revoir!
I assure you I won’t be grounded.
I’ll sail among the stars.