Saturday 9 December 2023

The Black Star by Adam Rutter

Major Tom,

The Black Star,

Puts his helmet on.

 

He steps inside a space capsule

And fires into orbit,

Ground control radios

Major Tom

To fire the rockets,

He watches planet Earth fall away,

Flies past the moon.

 

Computer panels are flashing "warning",

Alarms blaring.

 

The engine stops,

Ground control radios,

"Come in, Major Tom."

 

The radio, static,

Oxygen levels, low,

The Black Star, fading,

Computer panels glimmer

Down to a single flicker.

 

The capsule drifts through interstellar space,

Many millennia passes,

No alien encounters.

 

Travels between countless star systems,

A satellite moves in front of a star,

A world descends into darkness,

The capsule crashes.

 

The Black Star,

In his spacesuit,

Lying against rocks,

Wasting on this living planet.

 

His atoms deposited

On this alien body,

Ashes to ashes,

Stardust to stardust. 

3 comments:

Ann Reader said...

Particularly like the stardust ending

Jennie said...

It's very evocative Adam. Good writing.
I know it is based on David Bowies song but were you being ambiguous and also thinking of Captain Tom who became celebrated for his fund-raising during Covid?

Anonymous said...

An unusual piece, Adam. Interesting language use, as always -- I particularly liked "Computer panels glimmer".

David Bowie has clearly pinched my haircut, and I shall consult Ann for legal advice pertaining to that matter.

Alex