To the Moon

When I entered the Air Force missile program back in 1962, the biggest ICBM we had was the Atlas D. It had a thrust of 150,000 pounds and when it lifted off it shook the entire earth. It was awesome. When I first visited Vandenberg AFB in California in 1963, the Titan I had arrived. It generated 300,000 pounds of thrust and people there said “it doesn’t ‘lift off’, it just sits there and pushes the earth away”. The Apollo 11 moon rocket had 25 times THAT much power at 7,640,000 pounds of thrust.

Apollo's very name seemed strange - Apollo -Why would the god of the sun be selected to visit the earth’s moon? And the orbit of the moon, turned out to be a rough, bouncing ride, surprising everyone.

Then there was the sight of a human being walking on the moon. He kicked dust and it flew. Wow . What a sight! Only gods are supposed to do or see things like that!

Finally, when they came back. I wondered why no one on any of the TV networks played excerpts from the largo of the second movement of Dvorak’s Symphony #9, but no one did. So that’s really why I tried to write this poem.

TO THE MOON

With a stunning explosion of thunder and fire
The swooning Earth is shoved away;
Apollo now stands alone in space,
And reaches to grasp the moon.

Three quiet days through a strange new world,
Across a sea with no bottom; through a sky with no light;
Man’s hand holds the tiller’s helm tight,
But Apollo leads the way.

A rendezvous with destiny in deep dark space.
As the God of the Sun becomes a moon of the Moon.
Then Apollo lofts Eagle to carry Earth’s child
From bouncing orbit to Tranquility.

Oh Moon look! See thy dust fly high -
Kicked far and wide by dancing man!
The pulse thou stirred in ancient seas
Now comes to thee to stir thine own.

Then Eagle flies with a mighty leap
And returns to perch on Apollo’s glove.
with a prize so great that Eagle is freed -
and Apollo and man take moon dust home.

Going Home, Going home! Yes, we’re going Home!
At least, we are returning to where we left;
But home can never be the same -
As before Apollo left.

© John Womack, 2006. All rights reserved.