Once an astronaut Dawn McLachlan When I was deemed too old to fly they gave me a clock and said goodbye and all that I had left was time so I sat and watched it turn Tired of waiting for something more I bought a cabin on a deep lake shore and settled to let myself grow old dreaming of times long past But on perfect nights when the pale clouds fled and darkness leaked from the skies and bled into all the forest around my home I went down to the lake alone When the breeze is gone and the night is still I dip my oars in black water until I row out beyond the reach of all and look to the skies above I think of those who went before brave souls risking everything to explore Mariners watching out for land as they sailed the blackened seas I wonder then if they too yearned with aged bones and long rest earned for times gone past, out there alone with stars guiding them home
This poem was written for an anthology of #spacepoems for young people. The first version wasn’t quite right so didn’t make the cut. An updated version here for #poemsabout #blacksky
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