(For the Artemis II astronauts who looped around the moon on
April 6, 2026, the first humans to do so in more than a half century.)

It must be, I imagine, like
catching a glimpse of someone
you have a crush on,

or getting to see a movie star/
rock star/famous someone
in person, even from a distance.

And when, 160,000 miles away,
you snap an image of your home
planet, how giddy you must feel,

all the borders and wars and idiocy
of humans falling away, as everyone
who’s seen Earth from space says,

agog at the beauty of swirling clouds
over the bluest blue—just like in
the photos. But here you are,

with three others on your way to
orbit the moon, the first humans in
a half century to do so, the names

of your predecessors exhaled with
every breath of manmade air. Here
you are, rocketmen (and woman),

scientist/explorers to your core,
swooning over the best view in
your corner of the solar system,

thrilled at the view out a small
window into the blackness of space,
captivated by your beloved planet

slowly turning half its face into
the light, and your good luck
to be alive to see it.

•••

(With thanks to poet Jane Hirshfield for her words
that inspired the last lines of this poem.)