A Poem - “Ode to the Celestial Voyagers” (Sunita and Butch)

 

 Volume - 1                             Issue -2                     March 2025     

“Ode to the Celestial Voyagers”

(Sunita and Butch)

Beneath the ISS’s metallic gleam,
They watched Earth spin—a nine-month dream,
Where eight days swelled to seasons long,
Sunita, Butch, where stars belong.

Through fire’s wrath, the Dragon soared,
A chariot by cosmic roar,
Then plunged where dawn’s first blush unfurled,
To meet the waves of their own world.

As Florida’s tides embraced their steel,
A pod arose with phosphorescent zeal—
Dolphins, sleek in twilight’s glaze,
Curved like moons through ocean’s haze.

“The unplanned welcome crew!” they cheered,
While Meghan’s hull drew near, revered,
Harnessed tight from sapphire deep,
Nick, Aleksandr climbed from sleep.

Then Sunita emerged—her breath kissed air,
Nine moons of weightless nights to bear,
Butch followed, grounded, salt-rimmed grace,
The sky’s chill washed from every face.

For those who brave the void’s tightrope,
Where silence drowns and darkness gropes,
The sea, wise warden, sings its hymn—
A galaxy where stars can swim.

                       -       Sivakumar Raman