The Launch
About this hour long years ago
When I first saw what now I know
To be a fact of life today,
It shocked awake my drowsy way.The baby cried out in the night;
“Your turn”, she said; said I, “all right”;
Half dazed in winter's chilly air,
I furnace stoked – it smoked then flared.Dim ceiling-light across the hall
In room's half-storied sloping wall;
The crib, the bottle warmed of chill,
The diaper changed, I sleepy still.'Twas then – his sleeper now put on;
His tiny body, soft, now warm –
I caught his eye, deep-fixed his gaze
On me as I reached down to raise –Him up for late-night's warming snack;
I stopped, found I was gazing back,
Into those eyes – mom's father's look –
As of life's mystery I partook.For in that instant I knew well
His brain was one I'd never fill;
Already he far down that way
Of comprehension on that day.He got his food and diaper warm,
I caught a glimpse and was forewarned
To stand aside, not block his way
He'd need the world to fuel his day.Like rocket's platform at the Cape
Holds steady, feeds, and preps the way
To launch from earth out to the stars –
So we attend each child of ours.Then comes that time when we pull back;
Connection’s cords fall with a snap;
It hovers briefly ’fore its flies;
Our breath is held – we see it rise.From that point on direction’s course
Remote becomes, we less resource –
Their triumph’s hours, deep in a space
We'll never fly in all our days.The minutes pass, will they break free
From Earth's life-giving gravity?
Then falls away the booster tank –
“Mission control, we're free!”, they thank.From that point, comes their scattered news
Of life beyond our earth-bound views;
But in my heart remains that sight
In my son's eyes, that wintry night.navigation