From an Astronaut's Spouse
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Lift-off of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission
Credit: NASA
Poem: I could have sought by wit or wile...
I could have sought by wit or wile
Your bright dream to dim. And yet
If I'd swayed you with a smile
My reward would be regret.
So, for once, you shall not hear
Of the tears, unbidden, welling;
Or the nighttime stabs of fear.
These, this time, are not for telling.
Take my silence, though intended;
Fill it with the joy you feel.
Take my courage, now pretended--
You, my love, will make it real.
--written by Pat Collins to her husband, Mike, prior to his launch toward the moon on Apollo 11, from Carrying the Fire