​POETRY  -  
          With a Theme of Time 

"My friends and I knew--the sky was no limit "

​                                         Photo by Weebly                                               

                  Florida--Moon Central
                           by MJ Moore

                          Apollo 11 Launch, June 16, 1969
 
We lost a President but pursued his dream
of a man on the moon by decade’s end.
Only a few years for a nation,
        but half a girl’s life.
 
In those eight years,
I lost a father, gained my freedom,
learned to sew, memorize history facts,
        flirt with boys.
Kept a journal: love-hate-love.
Wrote secret poems, secret dreams,
told no one practically everything.
 
I oohed and aahed at a Mercury rocket launch,
ate peanut butter by candlelight in a hurricane,
grew my hair long, longer,
        down to my waist.
Cheered as hemlines crept up, up,
and paisley and wild flower prints
        bloomed across our bodies.
Learned to love the Jefferson Airplane,
denounced the Viet Nam War,
embraced Revolution--
        at least the idea.
 
My friends and I knew--
the sky was no limit--
        nothing could hold us back.
 
On a hot summer day in Miami in the back bedroom,
I shiver with the AC cranked up, listening
to orders in the Control Room, to Walter Cronkite
        with that serious, sure voice.
The nation watches the preparations--
astronauts waving, ascending the tower,
        climbing into the ship.
The banter back and forth,
the confident camaraderie--
        We’re all in this together!
 
As rockets fire, pushing against
the strongest force on earth,
we know we’ll succeed
because in this Grand Game of Life
        we can’t lose.
Because when you’re 17, everything is possible--
that pure white, distant orb
        is yours for the taking.

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MJ Moore has been a writer, teacher, grass roots activist, Buddhist practitioner, wife, mother, and grandmother. She loves the ocean and has lived near coasts most of her life. From the top of her street she can see the San Francisco Bay stretched out in fog and light. Poetry for her is a source of vision, exploration, and joy.  Her poetry book, Topography of Dreams, was published by Blue Light Press in 2020.

Other works in this issue:
Poetry:
Genesis
Departure

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