September twenty-third, two thousand six
Ellington Field welcomed home Atlantis
Astronaut Heide1. When, at the pulpit,
As she spoke about her flight, weariness
Set in. Light-headed, she tumbled floorward,
Revived, slumped again from being weightless
For twelve days. She’s okay now. But, gaitless
At twelve years, all Jimmy can look forward
To is NASA fly-bys. Sheer dreariness
Sets in shuttling doctors for the culprit
That makes him stumble along on mantis
Legs faulted, here, on his double helix.
As Heide spiraled from too long a spacewalk,
Jimmy spirals down and can no longer bracewalk.
1 Heide – Heide Stephanyshyn-Piper
