Humans travelled the farthest ever
from Earth. Who gets to
see the stars? A woman,
weeping over another
gone too soon, forever etched
on the surface of our moon. Who gets to
explore the unknown? Not the brown children
dying at the hands of our selfishness,
schools reduced to rubble, threats
of annihilation from a man
who kills to feel. Who gets to
awe at the universe? Not me
who scrapes mold off cheese
to make it last until the next paycheck.
I have seen the photos. I have seen
what they have seen. I know
we are just a tiny blue dot of fuzz
in a vast blanket of nothingness.
And yet, I cry
when they name the bright spot Caroll.
Put my hand over my aching heart
when I see the view of Earth
from the moon. A plea,
a beg from four scientists
to look, for the love of God, look
at this fragile, tiny sphere
containing so much beauty and pain,
look, no really, look.
Can’t you see we’re all we have?

~
Bio: Em Knapp is a writer and comedian based in Denver. They’re originally from Chicago, but fled west because they really like seeing the sun in February. Their writing has been featured in The Onion, The Offing, Button Poetry, The Rebis, McSweeney’s, and other places on the internet. You can follow their writing at emilyknappwriter.com. They can be found in the mountains.