The door whirred for a second, then opened abruptly,

Before the man laid a barren wasteland,

Devoid of all life; he could see nothing but gray, rocky mountains,

He slowly inhaled and paused for one final moment,

Then began to climb down the railing,

He could feel the heaviness of his suit resisting against his body,

When he reached the final rung of the ladder,

He loosened his grip and sluggishly descended,

He felt his boots drive into the ground,

Particles shot in every direction around him,

“That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

On the comms the man heard his fellow crewmates cheering,

He looked into the sky and there they were,

On that pale blue dot floating around in an infinite dreamscape,

Like a singular grain of sand being swept away in the ocean,

He looked back towards the ground, a hint of white caught his eye,

He saw his crewmate climbing out of the ship,

As the inky void of the cosmos reflected off their helmet,

The man slowly trudged across the surface,

In his hand he held a red and white striped flag,

A symbol of perseverance; a symbol of humanity,

He drove it into the ground with force,

and it stood valiantly.