Valentina Tereshkova Turns 70
The first woman in space said going to Mars had been a life-long dream. “I am ready to fly there and never come back.”
most of all the darkness
no tiring light
no endless looking up
just the rising out
away from solid small
ah the weight of the world
they sigh in their tea or
nod over their papers
how the weight falls away
they say
they can never know
how the weight
rides beside you
a coat hanging
patient in the closet
how you return hard
slip your arms into
the waiting sleeves
feel the thick cloth settle
on your shoulders