APOLLO 3000

we approached it like a hobby
it was a wide open field
and we had the materials
and the moment with a motive
smoked a little rocket fuel
touched the upper atmosphere
felt like a balloon
full of air
but not like a balloon
full of air
which can't stay still
or silent
swirling and howling and swirling more
this perpetual motion
of some interior eddies
this storm inside me
like a rushing wind
with nowhere to go
violently rushing
through the cracks in my bones
the wind turns to worms
twins turning synchronised and swimming
two great worms circling rapidly
just beneath the surface
consuming the inner pulp and
weaving my skin from their excrement
pushing out in preparation
cocooning season inside me now
the worms fading back to air
more like a soft breeze now
slowing and fading more still
more and more of less and less
until the worms are still
dead or dormant
the worms have left us
hollow husks
all we can think is to fill it up again
anything to stop this collapse
thought to try it again
but came near fatal dose
almost exploded on the launchpad
heart and lungs on fire
eyes tearing up from the smoke
ears full of ringing alarms
never do that again
never do that again
imploding now on further inspection
sleep and oxygen deprived
we scientists need a nap
been up too long on this experiment
this theorum won't prove tomorrow either
never do that again
end it with the burning
on that launch pad and counting down
counting down in perpetuity
lost in negative numbers
all our calculations wrong
we underestimated the gravity
in this situation
we failed to carry the remainder
and lost sight of the signs and switches
reserve the blame for faulty instrumentation
invalid input in serial numbers
counting down in perpetuity
trying to get back to the launch pad
were we left our sense of adventure
in favor of ringing alarms
and a new mantra
open to interpretation
never do that again
never
do that again

- S. Marvin Tuomala, 2005