Astronauts

We are so they say
     the stuff of stars
and in the warmth of our bodies
     there is a remembrance
in our eyes a glow
     and in our hearts an ambition
that we may once again
     travel a galactic distance

We are so they say
     the stuff of love
not the music of it
     but the dance
the perpetual movement
     see how we cover
the floor space
     how we invest in our
intimate choreographies
     how we twist and turn
but always guided
     by the beam of light
that comes
     from our lover’s eye

We are so they say
     language
words that fuel our journey
     that send signals
to and from mission control
     words that hone our actions
and winnow our thoughts
     words that ferry our feelings
from one soul to the other
     hopelessly romantic first drafts
longing to be shaped
     into final texts

We are so they say
     the elaboration
of solar energy
     driven here on the crest
of cosmic waves
     bound in a code
of complex simplicities
     time passing through
the mesh of time
     adventurers
of the heart and mind

We are so they say
     astronauts
on a mission
     to discover a path
to find our way
     to rediscover ourselves
in our own dark night

John Lyons