In Memory: “Hello Earth: I wish you’d answer / And in answering take stock”

Hello Earth:

I see you shining
Through the glaze of space
Floating in the oil-slick void
A quilt around your face

Hello Earth:

It’s clear you’re hiding
Worldly problems from my view
Could it be you are forgetting
I am worldly too?

Hello Earth:

Please stop pretending
You are sinless, new and pure
The scars that you are hiding
Only heighten your allure

Hello Earth:

I wish you’d answer
And in answering take stock

.

Alfred Worden, 1932-2020, poet, astronaut

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