Mr Spaceman by John Grey

Yes, that’s me in the photo.
NASA spacesuit.
Helmet at my side.
Grin as wide as a quarter moon.

Speaking of the moon,
I’ve been there fifteen times.
I know the craters
better than I know my own kids.

I’ve done countdown
and escape velocity
and zero gravity
and all the rest of it.

And, when I go someplace in the city,
I guarantee I’m the only one in the room
who’s seen the Earth
for the small blue marble 
it really is.

Next year, I’m off to Mars.
My home planet will be no more
than a vague dot 
on the space horizon.
People seem happy enough
not knowing any of this.

Yes, that’s me in the photo.
It’s tucked in a drawer.
I look too smarmy by half
And I have to live here  

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John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in the Homestead Review, Harpur Palate and Columbia Review with work upcoming in the Roanoke Review, the Hawaii Review and North Dakota Quarterly.