Nominal

 

There has been space travel my whole life.  Yet, still, it makes me cry.

I wrote this poem after having watched both flights, within a week of each other–those of Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson and of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.  This was an attempt to compare the two, and contemplate the future of paid space flight. 

Vocabulary:  The Kármán line is where the Earth’s atmosphere meets space, about 100km up.    “Nominal” means everything is functioning as it should.  MICO means “main engine cut-off.”  And zero grav is zero gravity, when passengers can unhook their belts and float around in the cabin.

Hope you enjoy the ride!

Beyond

The Kármán Line,

We rocket up.

A famous face,

Or two, make history

(at least, the briefest stay

On Guinness.)

 

Pink ignites the sky,

A flame propels

A rigid rod

To pierce the void

Of Space,

And steep,

Retreat,

Just moments later.

 

Days ago, a plane,

Like fifties’ sci-fi,

Pointy-tipped,

Curved straight up,

Exponential.

 

It tucked its wings

Up tight, and left

The desert for

The night,

To glide back down,

A graceful swan,

And skate the

Earth below.

 

This one, it breaks.

It blunts the tip.

And as the shaft

Skulks home, alone,

The cap, it bobbles

In an arc,

To float down,

Willy-nilly.

 

Something, like

A ghost we’ve seen,

On countless ancient

Arcade screens,

Deploys its chutes

And lands

So softly:

Baby’s cheek,

On pillow.

 

So, tell me–

Who will win this race,

This conquest

Of the nominal?

 

This uneventful,

Yet extraordinary,

Leap of Faith,

Beyond the bounds

Of gravity,

Soon hosting

Toasting bachelorettes,

And freedom-thirsty graduates,

And housewives,

And mechanics?

 

Make way for MICO,

Zero-grav!

Let NASA stand aside!

For paid space travel–

Well beyond

Our budget now, but soon–

Is not for single-

Breasted archers,

Unicorn’s

Best friends, alone–

 

But also for

The ordinary.

Everyday.

The nominal.

 

Like me.

 

Copyright 2021 Andrea LeDew

 

 

For a poem on the generation born and raised in the cradle of space flight, read Space Babies.