Floating in a vast, black sea
Companionless--no one but me
Trapped, I am, locked in this place
Bound in treacherous, celestial embrace
And so, to calm my frazzled brain
And soothe my screaming soul
I close my eyes and, once again,
I am home
Greeting my loved ones, instead of oblivion
Lying on the couch with a cold, frothy beer,
Not strapped to a chair,
Trying to stomach its dehydrated cousin
Holding my newborn son--
The son I never smiled at, never saw,
Never knew
It is home--Earth--that I long for
A desire that goes unrequited
But--
Still I wish to land this ship
(Despite its ails, I would prevail)
Triumphantly descend
(Free, unfettered--finally untethered!)
And, gracefully, no fall or slip
(Poised as Hell--a nimble gazelle!)
I’d leave this cage and avoid my end
(And, in flamboyant gait, I’d celebrate!)
A lavish parade would be thrown,
In my honor,
To commemorate the man who,
Despite the untimely deaths of his two cohorts,
Persevered
Battled gravity itself!
And successfully,
Piloted his dying ship
Safely--amazingly--
Landing,
Without aid of any kind
And shockingly modest, despite it--
A true hero!

And, after things had settled down,
I’d find my wife and drive ‘cross town
To the broad blue lake where we first met
It glistening like a giant sapphire in the autumn sun
We’d walk amid the wrinkled oaks,
Stretching their slender arms skyward,
Waving cheerfully as we pass by
And there, beneath these hospitable trees
I’d tell my wife, I love her…
Such a small, simple phrase
How I wish I could do that now…
But I digress…
Wishing for such…
Impossible things…
Is futile
Horribly, painfully,
Utterly
Futile
This craft
Its engine dying, its oxygen supply leaking--
Steadily being expelled
Is doomed
And
As
Am
I
…

And as we hurtle toward the sun…
I watch the angry, wrathful blaze
I see it
And yet,
No matter its futility
All I can do is wish…
Oh, to be on Earth--to be home again!
To be anywhere but here!