Falling Astronauts Poem by Gene van Troyer

Shall we fall forever
in this dark space? The starlight
snares your nerves, anchors your eyes.

Is our cry lost in this
endless night? Earth shows her brightest
eye when we occlude the sun.

What does she see? You
have closed your eyes. Light
is what lives in our minds.

Do our shadows
fall short? Our cry is
a penumbra, heard like prayers.

Who can comfort us now?
Blood surges in your ears and starlight
blazes in your brain.

Shall we fall forever? The Earth
falls forever, night skies snared
with starlight! She is never lost.