The test pilots

The moon is a piece of rock in the sky.

One watches through locked glass
as the other shuts a steel door and drives,
under the black sky,
under the moon that is a piece of rock,

that couldn’t feel the test pilots
brushing its surface,
taking some samples,
planting a flag.

The moon is not a place to stay:
it’s a place to visit,
and you’d better have your spacesuit on
or the lack of pressure and air
will kill you.

But go.
I recommend it.

It’s breathtaking there
under the black sky
on the untrodden moon.