My mother was an astronaut
She spent all her time away
Only ever came down for the births
My father was her husband
Sometimes we'd get to watch her on the TV
With our dinner
She was circling circling
My father would sometimes cry a little
And call his brother
To come and comfort him
The Russians did it also
But much earlier — out of curiosity
At first they sent up empties
And then silkworms
And then a monkey
And finally their most efficient women
These women were my mother's friends
Their meetings were at first absurd
And then commonplace
My mother had no weight —
Historical or otherwise
They would experiment
On where cress grows best
Or how to build a sky net
Or how
In a normal way
To make life more
Than the sum of its parts
When she got very old
She retired there
And was gone
I only had a picture of her
And was always a little shocked
Because she was not glamourous.