In 1985, as he
publishes
Entering Space:
An Astronaut’s Odyssey
I entered
kindergarten on my literary voyage
In another world,
Votuporanga
He is Allen IV,
I, just the middle
child
He entered as salt
and pepper sprinkles
on our Friday lunch
At the heat of our
discussion
about the ugly
faucets
our darling husbands
decided to choose
with the plumber’s
guidance...
Here, back on Earth,
As he entered
retirement in 2004
from his exits to
the moon
I was leaving my
Earth
(besides being
called a loon)
As life’s shuttle
orbited
Around years in and
out
As I entered the
galaxy of marriage
the constellation of
motherhood
the nebula of my
accomplishments
our paths cross:
He enters the room
with a gaze of one
who’s seen the
moon
With a cane, and a
NASA pin
on the navy blue
lapel
Still in pilot mode
strategic stops
and plenty nerdy
jokes
I tell him skeptical
Are you sure you are
an astronaut?
You should have been
a comedian
He smiles and tell
yet another one
about the burned church.
Holly smokes, I just
met Joseph P. Allen IV!
Washington, DC, Salt and Pepper Restaurant, lunch time with Etna Cantora and Andrea
