Poet Laureate Poems
Conquistadors
In this afterthought
he’s just turned six,
the astronaut in him
doing his damnedest to coincide
the moon landing
with his first kiss,
hoping to plant his lips
on —– ——–’s
distant face
as Simon Armstrong
steps from the module
onto Tranquillity Base.
But as Tricky Dicky clears his throat
to claim God’s estate
as man’s backyard
from the Oval Office,
and the gap narrows
to feet then inches,
suddenly stars recoil
to further dimensions
and heaven flinches.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first crewed moon landing by astronauts from the Apollo 11 spaceflight on the 20th July, 1969, the first known interplanetary journey by any life form in the universe.