how quiet it must have been
for you, michael collins...
how calm it must have seemed
for you, michael collins...
how tranquil you must have felt
up there alone
with no one on the radio,
except for you, michael collins...
doing something no one had done
with no one around to see
because you were in a place no one had been
with no way to share what you saw
because even radios fail that far away from home.
but not you, michael collins...
how dark was it in there
with not even the sun to guide your way?
how still was the air
with not even the wind to make a sound?
how many times did you ask yourself,
michael collins,
if you would ever see home again?
how many times did you think to yourself,
michael collins,
that you might not ever again
see the faces you remember?
on that clearest night,
did the stars not seem brighter than before?
upon coming into the sun again,
did you,
michael collins,
not feel lighter than before?
it must have been strangely startling
to have been startled by that strange crackle
coming from the radio.
for another human voice to sound so foreign
yours must have been a lie.
how did it feel leaving that void,
michael collins,
and crashing back into existence?
how soon did it feel,
to you, michael collins,
that your feet were back on the ground?
i imagine you must miss that silence.
...
i imagine you must
from time to time
walk far far away
and look back up at the stars.
i would ask you one question if i could,
michael collins,
on the clearest night
when you look up into that darkness
have the stars ever been brighter than before?
*Michael Collins was the 3rd astronaught on the apollo 11 mission. he didn't walk on the moon, he had to stay in orbit to pick them up later. while on the other side of the moon all radio contact was lost. for those 48 minutes he was the farthest anyone has ever (even now) been from the earth and from another living thing. he really was the loneliest man. Don't forget his name.
