Planetary Journey
Into the realm of night,
I let my mind take flight,
And beyond Van Allen's Belt,
The loneliness of space I felt.
To Mercury's domain I sped,
Where by a lake of molten lead,
I watched a solar flare explode,
Expanding beyond Jupiter's abode.
The planet Venus called to me,
A whisper from her cloudy sea,
And standing on her unseen land,
I watched her struggling life expand.
I walked over Luna's dusty plains,
Scarred by meteoroid rains,
Paused at Apollo landing sites
Then climbed to Luna's craggy heights.
I strolled over Mars rust red land,
Through lichen fields sown by nature's hand,
I saw a kaleidoscope of life,
On a planet torn by natural strife.
Through the Asteroid Belt I flew,
Through dust clouds fine as morning dew,
I raced the speeding meteorite,
Until Jupiter's call stopped my wild flight.
Through Jupiter's domain I roamed,
The surface of each moon I combed,
Then descended into Jupiter's atmosphere,
To see if life roamed this giant sphere,
From the moons of Saturn,
I studied its ring pattern,
Through its atmosphere I flew,
Viewing the struggle of life anew.
I descended into Uranus's atmosphere,
To view any life on this ancient sphere,
And explored the surface of its moons,
As I sped outward toward Neptune.
From its moons,
I studied the planet Neptune,
Then descended into its atmosphere,
To see if life lived upon this mighty sphere.
I flew over Pluto's frozen land,
I wandered on its icy span,
Over its surface did I roam,
To see if life called this planet home.
Thus through Sol's domain I roamed,
Saw that life could call each planet home,
Life could evolve upon each sphere,
And struggle beneath each atmosphere.
Poet's Note: ▼ I wrote this poem in 1986 or 1987. I am not sure precisely what inspired it. When I copied it into his folder, I did a little rewriting but not very much because a complete rewrite would result in a different poem.