by Rémy Dambron
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| The US has condemned Russia for conducting a "dangerous and irresponsible" missile test that it says endangered the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The test blew up one of Russia's own satellites, creating debris that forced the ISS crew to shelter in capsules. Astronauts on the ISS are increasingly having to take precautionary measures when fragments from old satellites and rockets come close. —BBC News, November 17, 2021 |
how far we’ve come
since our primitive wheels first rolled on dirt roads
and expanded our means of transit
since our sails first met the unyielding winds of the sea
sending us over entire oceans in search of new worlds
since we built the first railroads to journey across continents
along iron paths only humans could pave
since our mechanical wings first presented us
with the gift of flight
momentarily freeing us from the grounding force
of earth’s gravitational pull
lifting us into lower skies to tour our globe and glide
soaring beyond what the eye could see
since our first expedition to the moon
launched by the thrusts of internal combustion
rockets powerful enough to achieve escape velocity
and break through the comforts of our planet’s atmosphere
propelling us into the perils of space
where no soul had previously traveled
merely dreamed...
how far we’ve come only to have become
the very perils we feared
the very menaces we strived
to mitigate
pieces of ourselves
unapologetically returning to haunt us
unhesitant to disrupt our lives
unsympathetic to our vulnerabilities
our persistent flaws
our stubborn mortality
an unmerciful reminder of our physiological limits
and the little chance they stand against our cerebral endlessness
Author’s note: To me this story was about more than the handful of lives that were put in harm's way as a direct result of typically destructive human behaviors. While I am relieved that the crew aboard the ISS is safe, this story was a sobering reminder that mankind remains its own greatest threat. We’ve entered a very dangerous era in our brief history as a species, where, in addition to our hazardous nature here on Earth, we have somehow managed to make space.. that cold and dark place with no water, no air, and no life, even more dangerous than it was before we got there. Where do we draw the line? When will we have gone too far?
Rémy Dambron is an English teacher and poet whose writing focuses on denouncing political corruption and advocating for social/environmental justice. With the help of his chief editor and loving wife, his works have appeared in What Rough Beast, Poets Reading the News, Writers Resist, Society of Classical Poets, Robot Butt, and The New Verse News.