return to earth

in the place where
blue turns black where
sharp stars stab the night where
haze on the horizon curves where
the planet bends beneath inscrutable heaven

airlock hatches close and door bolts slide in place
the shuttle-craft undocks and opens a distance
as black as the same night widening
heat shields glow a red aurora
through re-entry
to planetfall

to the sea where
as much beneath the waves
is hidden along with all human troubles
drained in their own descent to ocean bed
unlike heaven the black here solidifies
as if its secrets will never be found
never illuminated again
because there are
no stars

© BH, 2019

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Written for the Poetry24 ‘In A Word’ slot. The word for the week was ‘PACK’. I uncovered an article about the new space shuttle returning to earth.

Astronauts Pack Up SpaceX's Crew Dragon for Return to Earth

https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-packed-for-earth-return.html

This just came out of it.