We who are earthbound wonder
what it must be like for you,
who circumnavigate the globe
as mariners could not aspire to -
charting unfamiliar seas,
constantly in jeopardy,
sustained by visions of discovery.
What are you thinking as you orbit
beyond Earth's periphery,
glimpsing opal surfaces below -
the land where you were raised? Do you
feel a rush of love for all humanity?
Despair for our mistakes? Nostalgia?
What is your overarching view?
Does such a sense of destiny pervade
your days that discipline of life in space
seems effortless? What compensates
for simple earthly pleasures you have
sacrificed? (Please excuse these questions
from a stranger. It's not idle curiosity,
but a desire to go beyond what I imagine
and experience. We're almost through.)
Whose voices travel with you?
Are there silences - when you face
the prospect of the infinite?
Does earth's secure embrace
compete with siren galaxies? What
metamorphosis is taking place?
Forgive me if these questions
seem naive - or worse, impertinent...
You are the heroes of our age -
our phoenix hopes and dreams
rise with you.
Thank you for this interview.
I've taken too much of your time.
The sky tonight has never seemed
so beautiful. Nor so immense.