A long time coming

How do you escape velocity? How do you escape the earth? First, you must plan an orbit, in order to escape the gravitational pull of your homeland, and then make a pathway to the stars. The physics of displacement and the direction of time will narrate the story. Then, when you enter deep space, and as you approach the Kármán Line, that firmament where space begins, the only sound you will hear are the red blood cells pulsing past your eardrum. Your heart will become a massive drum keeping time with the angels of the universe, and then, every breath you take, it will be like the ocean, pulsing inside of you. We are 97% ocean. Fish swim in our blood. I think of how lyrics of songs define a generation. Jesse Colin Young singing Come on people now smile on your brother.  Wooden ships catching the wind in their sails, seeking the lee shore. And as you dream of the star lines, the songs of deep space will carry you in that deep turning within. And today another brother among us has ascended to the clouds, perhaps to ride the tail of that comet home, we’ve been a long time gone, and we’ll be a long time coming home. 

And it's a fair wind
Blowin' warm out of the south over my shoulder
Guess I'll set a course and go.

1/19 Mill Valley Non-fiction workshop