Travel through life
as though life is the cosmos

as though you are the first person
to fly into its void

as though your outstretched arms
are powered by the sun

as though your body
is the mathematics of freedom

as though your fingers
speak the only language there is

as though your eyes
are newborn stars in a nebula

as though your heart
can survive a supernova

as though each day
is a new planet

as though each year
is weightless

as though each moment
is an atom

as though solitude
is fuel

as though even if you land
you will always fly again

—

This bit of Yuri Night Poetry was written to celebrate the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight on April 12, 1961. Gagarin became the first person in space when his craft, Vostock 1 left the Earth’s atmosphere (flying at 17,500 miles per hour). Vostock 1 circled the Earth once, a journey which took 108 minutes and then returned to Earth. The craft had no way to slow down, which meant that Gagarin had to eject just before hitting the surface of our planet. Yuri Gagarin was 27 when he flew but although he hoped to return to space, he never did. He died during a training flight.

Thanks to Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura for supporting my performance of Astro Poetica poetry.

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