The End of the Dream?

“Fly me to the moon!” has taken on new meaning

And “being on the Far Side” is on TV screening.

How fascinating this all is, with raging wars below

As Apollo 13’s sequel makes media channels flow!

 

Since Artemis 2 escapes our much-loved Planet Blue

The Powers-that-Be, down here on earth, threaten life anew…

Who remembers Star Wars, which captured thoughts and views?

Is Target Moon a side show or distraction in the news?

 

“All men are merely players”, as William Shakespeare said

A theme still very valid, though he’s a long time dead

The Moon will lose its magic when it’s thoroughly explored;

For these astronauts it’s tragic, as their dreams go overboard!

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

View of Earth from Outer Space

 

Artemis - Ancient and Modern

Twin of Apollo, Artemis,

Goddess of the Wilderness;

She who, fleet of foot, would go

A-hunting in the moon’s bright glow…

 

Now finds herself, aloft, airborne

From Mount Olympus rudely torn

Re-branded NASA’s shining light

Harbinger of new lunar flight !

 

That sense of mystery pervades!

She shoots her bolt o’er darkened shades

The Galaxy her target now

What distances will Man allow?

 

Zeus’s daughter shows no fear

Her Grecian locks stream everywhere

Symbol of celestial might

Her name – evocative - seems right!

(c) Poet in the Woods 2022

The  NASA Artemis Mission - Cape Canaveral, Florida

September 2022: flight postponed twice due to technical problems but finally took off on 16th November, 2022!

Out of this World!

Honour Yuri Gagarin – the first man in space

In the Vostok* which orbited Earth’s rugged face,

17,000 miles clocked-up in an hour

Top-secret mission of Soviet power!

 

Aloft, all alone – pre the world of I.T.

With off-course, safe landing near the vast Volga sea;

What relief to his wife**, a rare one to know

Of this great mission, all else on down-low…

 

With the Cold War as backcloth, and black-out of Press

The world knew so little, the Americans less!

The Iron Curtain waivered at wind of this coup

The Space Race took off in the deepest of blue.

 

Soon Kennedy’s vow put a Man on the Moon

More missions then followed, some thwarted too soon

Exploration continues, we’ve landed on Mars

But Gagarin’s achievement is writ in the stars!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

* On 12th April, 1961

** Valentina 1935-2020

Yuri Gagarin 9.3.1934- 27.3.1968

Touchdown on Mars!

NASA spreads its wings out wide

Seeking life on the Outside

Beyond the world we hold so dear

What the aim is, is not clear.

 

New high-tech probe makes it to Mars!

First pictures reach us via the stars

We see close to, what is remote

Top scientists take eager note!

 

The ‘Perseverance Rover’ lands

In rocky valley, barren sands

Its safe arrival makes the News

But gives rise to discordant views.

 

Meanwhile, our Earth, in dire straits

Serves War and Discord on our plates

In Myanmar and Middle East*

Starvation threatens without peace.

 

We plot and plan on Never-Never

But cannot get our act together;

The climate crisis gathers pace …

Why still invest in Outer Space?

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

* War in Yemen

Touchdown on Mars on 18th February, 2021

 

 

A Bit of a Worry

There are those who keenly follow news
And take on board conflicting views
Video clips with horror scenes:
Spike fear and drama in their dreams.

And those who, tired of all this hype,
Just hope things soon will be alright
Like the ostrich they will stand
On the sidelines, head in sand ...

But news requires some compromise
Mendacious truth or downright lies?
We sift wheat from the chaff and wait
What bread will land upon our plate?

This year provides a brand new slice
Of life; what gambler threw the dice?
Riots, lock-downs, spaceship travel ...
When will this woolly ball unravel?

New normal? Who will toll the knell?
The blame game sounds a warning bell ...
World leaders, lost, don't have a clue;
This mass anxiety is new ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2020



n June 2020, notable rocket launches included a SpaceX Falcon 9 on June 13, carrying Starlink satellites and causing a visible, glowing exhaust cloud. On June 30, another Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral, marking SpaceX's first mission for the U.S. Space Force, deploying a new GPS satellite. 

On the Far Side

That translucent orb, the Moon
Whose lunar cycles form the tune
To which all womenkind must dance,
Has its secret side enhanced

As the Chinese, keen to prove their worth,
Have sent a module up from Earth
Which, thanks to relay and high tech,
Has with success just made the trek

Around the Moon in Outer Space
And on its Far Side found a place
In a crater's gaping maw
Where it can tentatively explore!

"Man-on-the-Moon" in Sixty-Nine
Made the headlines then, big time
But as the Space Race has abated
Some see such trips as overrated.

Imagine - losing links with Earth!
This 'Made-in-China' finds a berth
In an eerie atmosphere unknown
Dark, cold, silent - and alone...

Rumours buzz; should we believe
The Chinese have cards up their sleeve?
Is this gentle amble through the stars
A prelude to their real aim – Mars?

(c) Poet in the woods 2019



Model of the Chang'e lunar module

Luna Magic

The Bard's “inconstant orb” draws near;
In mid-November, this pale sphere
Will reach its perigee* at last
An event that rarely comes to pass.

Elliptical - its orbit shape
Our silver moon will often take
Aeons before it looms in sight
Like a Christmas bauble in the night.

An illusion that it grows in size
Hovering above our eyes
Its limpid glow wakes poets' muse
Juliet and Romeo enthuse...

Once in a Blue Moon, it will come
Reflecting our life-giving sun
Just briefly over Trump's high towers
This lunar loveliness is ours...

(c) Poet in the woods 2016

* The Super Moon - 14th November, 2016