The Fall of Cassini |
Emissary, vessel of hope
For thirteen years a moon of mighty Saturn
Dancing with Titan, sailing with impossible grace
Through ice-geysers and ring-planes
Turning specks of light into worlds of mystery
And looking sunward to show us our world
Our home
From a billion-mile vantage.
Even to the last, as you arced toward destruction
You fought with thruster and gyro
To hold true to your purpose
To hold the link to Earth
To tell us your final story
As you tasted at last the air of Saturn.
How fitting then
That, high above those golden clouds
As the thickening air clawed at you
Turned you away from home
Turned you toward your doom
You died as a meteor --
A falling star, bearing our wishes.
copyright 2017
Catherine
Berry |