My Poetry: When I Was a Spaceman

When I was not so old,
I would hide in small niche

Of blanket and pillow cave
From where I would fly

My spaceship,

First mate Ted by side,
Explore new stars and nebula

Or at least somewhere,

That wasn’t there.

And we would leave,
The cold earth behind

With its arguments
And black eye bullies,
School, and concealed tears
From weekend visits
Whenever we could.

In the ether we would be free,
Beneath that blanket rocket
Till ground control
Called up for tea,
And we would have to leave
Our secret galaxy
For another TV dinner reality.

When I was a teen,
I would hide in spacedust dreams
Dear old Ted long disappeared,
Swapped for friends
Who’d dance and sing,
Astronauts without a ship
Shoot straight through

To Monday without sleep

Ignore the days that dragged between
Till our bodies were weak,
Callow of heart and pale of skin.

We pretended we knew

The secrets of life,
And how to run, and run till we fell.
Until to bed, Itook

Ill of will and fight
Where dear ole Ted returned
With lopsided poppy grin
Where together, once again
We visited our secret galaxy
Waiting for a new reality.

Now as a man,
I hide in rye and beer
Neatly tucked away in niches,
Long ago I stopped pretending
This spaceship finished its last mission
In acceptance of this
New reality.