Poems: A Tribute To Apollo

The first of the following two poems by Robin Spina was inspired by Mike Collins “I imagined him walking past his Apollo 11 command module on display in the museum, conscious of the fact that he was once inside it, a quarter of a million miles away, alone with no radio contact behind the moon

A Legacy for Michael Collins©

The loneliest man since a lonely Adam
Was his instructed legacy to follow,
He so mightily maneuvered the cosmos,
In a magical machine of Apollo.

Michael, was always third, and, the other,
Not due to lagging; but, to fortune’s wheel;
The moon saw him as third of three,
Placed behind denizens Edwin and Neil.

But when the aforementioned frolicked
And recorded history down in luna’s dust,
It was Michael, now alone in the dark,
Whom the denizen’s lives they’d entrust.

Only except for Adam before Eve,
His aloneness was unique in history.
No visions or voices from his mankind,
Had earlier prospected this periphery.

His ship… salvation… a borrowed safe haven,
From where Michael and his universe starred;
His ethereal home far away from his Rome…
Columbia has a soul… reluctance to discard.

This earth emissary-carrying conveyance
Earned its keep, allotment, time to sleep;
Now perched… stationary and motionless,
Entrusted… but a machine… so not to weep.

Columbia… caretaker, protector of its men,
Placed and positioned in Michael’s museum.
Columbia… Apollo-sired; but, born of terra,
Stellar, optimal, and purveyor of carpe diem.

Michael’s museum, Columbia there rests,
And no longer needed, depended to ascend;
As Michael, aware, walks by, emboldened,
Smiling prejudiced, proudly, his old friend.

 

Next is “a tribute to the Apollo program and all it’s missions“.

The Legend Of Apollo©

The first of these 3-manned flights
Embarked so with Schirra’s Apollo 7;
Preparing humankind for unseen sights
Merited of Apollo 1’s 3, now in heaven.

Next, Apollo 8 was so mightier than all,
Finally, leaving earth for the moon;
edge-of-seat drama… but without flaw,
from “in the beginning” to Pacific noon.

The moon could be reached, they knew,
Now… but if only to land and return;
and, with each day our confidence grew
and time to soon ‘go’ they would discern.

Introducing the spidery LEM into space,
And one ship literally becoming two;
As Apollo 9’s separated, flew with grace
And, two halves far apart they flew.

Survival so far, all tribulations and trials,
Collective prayers working… and amen;
They would peruse within 9 mere miles
As this the bold mission of Apollo 10.

Now… it was time, mankind was of age,
Humankind’s dream was suddenly real;
So… 3 were chosen to lose an earthly cage
And, destiny chose Mike, Edwin, and Neil.

Recently inconceivable this could be achieved,
This event being sent to a pebble of heaven;
The most reverent, since Adam was conceived,
In Honor of: the epochal flight of Apollo 11.

Now, once wasn’t enough so they dare go again,
Conrad’s Apollo 12 was dubbed this machine;
Landing were luck, God and Intrepid’s two men,
But, this was the last for now, He had seen.

It was decreed that no third landing would they earn
As Lovell’s Apollo 13 was finger-pointed by fate;
But a first… the world prayed for a victimless return
A pray-together stay-together world shows no hate.

Apollo 14 was up and allotted the next lunar look
With the first staccato roar ever delayed by rain;
As Al’s golf shot travelled with nary a hook
After they landed, so far in most rugged terrain.

Apollo 15’s J-mission was next and a first, by far,
As Endeavor observed much more to explore still;
Scott and Irwin, egressing craters in an electric car
After Falcon grappled the marsh at Hadley-Rille.

When Young and Duke, next, made their try,
it was almost haphazard and without purpose;
but, the universe didn’t yet bear say goodbye,
and allowed Apollo 16 on hallowed surface.

Our heavenly interests became crippled and lame,
and could barely hold for just one more flight;
the final 7½ million pounds of thrust to tame
was a conclusion… a memorial to launch by night.

Apollo 17 glitched… a delay before it went away,
but destiny, luck and men quickly found remedy;
they say it transformed a blackened night into day
when Challenger and America left Cape Kennedy.

What an honor, to be allotted among few chosen,
to land, leap and live in luna’s grandeur, mystery;
but the forever flame of Apollo was finally frozen,
as Cernan and Schmidt were its last in history.

Glorious. John’s bold goal grasped for the ages,
Reaching it, suddenly releasing it, utter dismay;
Unbridled enthusiasm snuffed, regress to cages,
Apollo jailed… impaled… as it handed us
immortality, so… to throw it all away.


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