"Spaceman"

High above the world, he floats,

Just a speck in the inky sky

Moving with a silent grace

Above those in whose beds they lie.

He gazes down upon a world

So silent he can but sigh

With thoughts of what he could better hear

Were he closer and among them again.

He thinks of wars, he thinks of pain

He thinks of words intended to sting

With verbal arrows shooting here and there.

He thinks of his life among them all

And touches the window with a gentle grace

As if to calm the human race.

And the world, and he, turn on

And out into the black, dim night.

But yet, the world and he stick fast

As he continues on his flight.

And then the day, all new and bright

Turns the corner of his sight

And he gazes down with pure delight

At a world of blue, and green and light.

This is HIS world, the one he left

To live among the velvet folds

Of space and time and close confines;

To watch on high and keep them safe

From those who might their freedom take;

To shackle them, to hold them down,

To steal their spirits with unknown means

And make a mockery of their dreams.

And so he watches, ever alert;

A silent soldier in an unknown fight

To keep them safe on his endless flight.

His eyes are quick, his hands are firm

As he plots his course of no return,

For here he must stay, for all his days

To help and protect his human ways;

To keep his craft up high and alert

With its many eyes at every port.

He’s done this now for many years.

He cannot even count the tears

He’s shed, in loneliness and in grace,

For playing his part in this endless fight

To keep his world secure and safe;

To allow all children to continue on

From grandfather, to father, to son.

This life is short and full of war

So up above, he waits and trusts

That man will finally come to peace

And finally, allow this spaceman to cease

This endless journey in outer space

To keep safe the human race.