He floats free
suspended
above the Earth
balanced between the
Dark above
the blue below
He sits in the hand
of the universe
weightless as
a feather on
the breath of heaven
A billion voices
lie below
but here
his breathing is the
only earthbound sound
The universe
sweeps around him
with the sounds of atoms
stars
galaxies
in wavelengths he
is not tuned to.
Someday
we all will hear
the birth and death
of stars
of galaxies colliding
and maybe
just maybe
the voice born on
another planet
But today
only he floats,
suspended between
the light and
dark of the universe
the first of many
who follow
Courage took
the first step
hope floated out
into tomorrow
Astronaut Bruce McCandless
was the first
he wasn’t the last
Now the real
work begins
Ruth Jewell, ©June 19, 2022
Photo: NASA
A Quiet Walk 