A vast stone Christmas tree of a building
viewed from across a night time traffic island,
points a yellow fingered steeple at the moon
as it diffracts through the October rain.
Standing for a moment enthralled by the beauty
of this illuminated edifice,
with the automotive hypnotic hum
and sound of wet car tyres spraying the kerb
lulling me into a strange stupor or reverie
of thoughts of past and future times.
This resplendent space rocket of a vision
launches me both back to my boyhood
and to my future self simultaneously.
A colossal Saturn Five and festive tree of the soul
forcing me to be aware of life’s trajectories
of the past and the present.
I am over the moon.
Abruptly I re-enter the world of the real
and have to decide exactly where I am going.
The magic being broken, I turn away from the church
resigning myself to the inevitable splashdown.
© Dave Totski, 2014
Photo by author.
Author’s Note
The Saturn V (Five) was the name of the Apollo multi-stage launch vehicle used for the moon landings. It was designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun and based on his work on the A12 (V2) ballistic missile. It stood at nearly a hundred and eleven metres tall and weighed about three million kilograms.
A Reader’s Response
Pin sharp imagery!
A suburb sketch. I love the thought of being launched to the past and future simultaneously; the nostalgia and excitement. “I am over the Moon” is simply brilliant!
The “splashdown” ending also very poignant.
Wally Schwim