Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Contest

Moon Landing
by Mackenzie Cocherell

THirtieth Contest
Honorable Mention

you came to me one rain-filled 
mid-july 
evening
we watched the moon landing together.

waited for that inevitable moment
of first contact.
scientists leaning over panels
holding their breath. 
anticipating the very words:

“one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

was that scripted? 
did Neil Armstrong use that on all the astronaut ladies?
the moon must have felt so vulnerable --
bare and exposed for the entirety of America to see for their viewing pleasure.

those small steps surely didn’t feel small, did they
Neil traipsing about,
flaunting his expertise to the thing he was walking
all over.

craters and moon rocks and the possibility of life on the
other side
was no longer a concern.

the miracle was in making it so far. 

gravity had to exist, or i would be
so
far
gone
through the roof 
to join
Neil.