Flames pierce the sky, Apollo's might,
Three men bound for lunar light.
Lovell, Swigert, Haise in flight,
Dreams of footprints, stars so bright.

"Houston, we've had a problem here."
Silence. Then, "Say again, please."
"Houston, we've had a problem."
Hearts skip a beat, time seems to freeze.

Soaring high, a celestial dance,
Suddenly alarms advance.
Oxygen fades, a deathly trance,
Mission's fate hangs by a chance.

"Houston, we're losing air up here."
"Copy that. Stay calm, we're near."
"Roger, Houston. Standing by."
Engineers race, solutions fly.

Ground control's minds in overdrive,
Ingenuity keeps hope alive.
Power rationed, makeshift repair,
Aquarius cradles them with care.

"Houston, progress, but dangers loom."
"Understood. We'll beat this doom."
"Affirmative. We're holding strong."
Earth and crew - where they belong.

'Round the moon, so cold and grey,
Home a jewel, so far away.
Air grows thick, supplies run low,
Determination's ember glows.

"Houston, we're fighting for our lives."
"Courage, men. Your family strives."
"Copy that. We won't give in."
A nation prays, hopes wearing thin.

Re-entry burns, a fiery test,
Ocean welcomes, ending quest.
Three emerge from capsule's shell,
A story of survival to tell.

"Okay, Houston... we're home at last."
"Welcome back. Ordeal has passed."
Apollo 13, a triumph true,
Of human spirit, tried and new.

The lover's death, how regular
With lifting spring and starker
Vestiges of the sun that somehow
Filter in to us before we waken.

Not yet is there that heat and sober
Vivisection of more clamant air
That hands joined in the dark will answer
After the daily circuits of its glare.

It is the time of sundering…
Beneath the green silk counterpane
Her mound of undelivered life
Lies cool upon her—not yet pain.

And she will wake before you pass,
Scarcely aloud, beyond her door,
And every third step down the stair
Until you reach the muffled floor—

Will laugh and call your name; while you,
Still answering her faint good-byes,
Will find the street, only to look
At doors and stone with broken eyes.

Walk now, and note the lover's death.
Henceforth her memory is more
Than yours, in cries, in ecstasies
You cannot ever reach to share.