Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Space Tourist

Out early, Bush, with George
who needs his morning pee.
Still dark. I found myself
looking up into the night sky
between our eucalyptus trees
and there, Orion’s belt, three stars,
magical even in the semi-dark
afforded by the city’s glow.
Then, suddenly, a shooting star
across the sky, faster almost
than the eye could see.
Then it was gone. I thought
about Anousheh Ansari,
our latest space tourist, gutsy
Iranian immigrant to this country,
Bush, who forked out
a reported twenty million
for the trip. She’d dreamed
since childhood of the stars,
I heard: this was her dream
fulfilled. She said she wished
the presidential candidates
would be sent out into space
for a perspective on the world,
And I thought, good idea;
I thought, let’s send Bush,
give that man a perspective
on the world, much needed.

Then I recalled thinking
only yesterday, as I worked out
in our local gym, of my own days
as a child, and the experience—
I told my friend who teaches me
the art of working out—of living
north of London with the threat
of German bombs. And I said
to my friend, we should send Bush
to Baghdad for a couple of weeks,
for him to begin to know first hand
that feeling; that experiencing
the fear that in the next moment
one might fall and blow your body
into a million pieces, or trap
you alive beneath tons of rubble.
Well, my friend laughed. He said,
I agree. But I have a better idea:
let’s send his family. If we send
his family, then he’ll know.
Then we’ll have the troops home
faster than blink an eye.

Not a nice thought, Bush,
for this lovely morning in L.A.
Not nice at all, I grant you.
But many would agree, I think,
it has a certain merit to it.
There’s many would agree at least,
it has a small, uncomfortable,
but undeniable grain of truth.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

She said she wished
the presidential candidates
would be sent out into space
for a perspective on the world,
And I thought, good idea;
I thought, let’s send Bush


This is a great idea! And we could save the taxpayers a lot of money if it was a one-way ticket.

Anonymous said...

This space tourist thing looks like a small proof that the rich are going to go into space and watch earth decay, as some visionaries predict.

Anonymous said...

Jonathan Jones on Hockney interview.

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/critic/archive/0,,931829,00.html

Anonymous said...

Oh Gringo, please do not lump me in with those you speak of... I'm just trying my damnedest to control my own spot in life, and even at that, I find I'm not the one in control, Spirit is:D. Yes, the twins need to grow up, and so does Bush, ship them off to boot camp, then to Iraq in thier new fatigues and brogans. Make sure they all get different parts of Iraq. I would beg and borrow the money to go see them get shipped out. Alas and alack, that is not to be:(. Oh well...