SpaceMan

He pushed the envelope
Put on a white spacesuit
Trained for years
Swam in weightless swimming pools
Took a thousand medical tests
Waited for his day to ride the candle
up to the moon
and back.

He left his family
waiting
at the altar
of professional accomplishment
Wondering whether it was worth it
To see the stars.

The spacecraft
had a million parts
complex computers
lights blinking madly
monster engines
burning fuel and gas
exploding into the darkness
of a launch pad
built with the sweat of a thousand men and women.

When he got to space
He brushed his teeth
looked into the mirror
slept eight hours
read a book
did his work
and looked out the porthole
at the same stars.