INTERSTELLAR TRACT after William Carlos Williams I will teach you my Earth people how to perform a star flight for you have it over a troop of astronauts— unless one should scour the system— you have the space sense necessary. See! Imagination leads. I begin with a design for a ship. For Sol's sake not streamlined- not silver either-and not polished! Let it be weathered and familiar, as full of natural color as the world it leaves behind. And let us have glass on all sides! Yes windows, my Earth people! To what purpose? So we might see the stars streak in the wake of our light-speed passage, so we might watch our past shrink and our future swell before us. No plastics please- and if there must be steel for Clarke's sake keep it covered. Fill the corridors with earth which gives beneath our feet, where grass can begin to grow. Plaster the walls and panels with murals of your own making or common mementos from the past, a favorite poem or photograph- an old poster—a dried flower- you know the things I mean my Earth people. Better still, no corridors at all, no cramped cabins to fold us in- rather a vast and open space, spun for gravity, where our thoughts may freely flow, with a river known for its warmth, a forest or two so we can build homes of our own choice. A rough and natural ship then, a miniature Earth, still clean- green and blue and full of clouds if you can imagine such a thing- and for light no glowing tubes that turn the skin a sickly hue, but the passing stars themselves- magnified by sufficient art and craft to rival the lumens of our sun. As to the bridge and crew- bring them down—bring them down! A navigator, perhaps, to help plot our course between systems, but no communications officer to turn our varied voices into one, no strutting captain-king leading us through the cosmos, calling our ship his ship. Let the controls remain simple. For what reason? So any man or woman can learn to master them, so every one of us might take a turn at the board and have a hand in making our destination. And finally, each sidereal cycle, let us sit openly with one another, side by side beneath the trees- my Earth people-as we conspire to save the best in our origins and leave the worst behind— you have nothing to lose- believe me, the stars will fill your pockets. Go ahead now I think you are ready for flight - Bruce Boston
Find out more about
Bruce Boston's writings via
The Locus Databases
Information about
Bruce Boston's book of poems
Get your own Free Home Page