At the dawn of the U.S. space program,
Chuck Yeager derisively called the
Mercury Seven’s space heroes “spam in the can.”
But Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom and John Glenn
Proved to have The Right Stuff.
It was stuff that sustained dreamy kids like me.
In 1969, my family moved to Chicago;
On July 20, the first-place Cubs swept a doubleheader,
And old men cried when young men landed on the moon.
By 1972, the old and the young took it all for granted:
Winning seasons, good governance, lunar landings.
But the pendulum swings like Cape Canaveral’s weather.
The Cubs grew old and began losing again;
Nixon stayed corrupt, presaging another warmongering despot;
And NASA’s budget was cut, grounding Apollo’s “giant leap for mankind.”
The other day Artemis II left earth’s orbit.
The rocket, launched like a ball off of a burning bat,
Blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad.
The morning opened with a wall of rain;
But before liftoff, the cumulus cloud cover revealed
Sunshine that reminded me of Ernie’s smile.
Ernie Banks, that is.
Brother Ernie, whose smile defeated the rain.
Mr. Cub Ernie, of “Let’s play II” fame.
Artemis’ astronauts—in Mercury’s shadow—
Took that slingshot ride of fire to the moon.
The moonshadow reminded me of Billy.
Billy Williams, that is.
Sweet swinging Billy, the moon to Ernie’s sun.
Ironman Billy, of “Let’s play 1,117” fame.