An Out-of-This-World Anniversary

Dear Members, Alumni, & Friends of the JSMT:

This weekend marks the 45^th anniversary of the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo 11 lunar module on the surface of the Moon. In honor of this historic occasion, here are some poems about the Moon, plus the inscription from the Apollo 11 commemorative plaque that Armstrong & Aldrin left behind on the lunar surface.

“Eldorado”

By Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

Gaily bedight,

A gallant knight,

In sunshine and in shadow,  

Had journeyed long,  

Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old—

This knight so bold—  

And o’er his heart a shadow—  

Fell as he found

No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength  

Failed him at length,

He met a pilgrim shadow—  

‘Shadow,’ said he,  

‘Where can it be—

This land of Eldorado?’

‘Over the Mountains

Of the Moon,

Down the Valley of the Shadow,  

Ride, boldly ride,’

The shade replied,—

‘If you seek for Eldorado!’

“The Moon Was but a Chin of Gold”

By Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

The Moon was but a chin of gold

A night or two ago,

And now she turns her perfect face

Upon the world below.  

Her forehead is of amplest blond;

Her cheek like beryl stone;

Her eye unto the summer dew

The likest I have known.

 

Her lips of amber never part;

But what must be the smile

Upon her friend she could bestow

Were such her silver will!

And what a privilege to be

But the remotest star!

For certainly her way might pass

Beside your twinkling door.

Her bonnet is the firmament,

The Universe her shoe,

The stars the trinkets at her belt,

Her dimities of blue.

“The Moon” (From A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885)

By Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

The Moon has a face like the clock in the hall;

She shines on thieves on the garden wall,

On streets and fields and harbor quays,

And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,

The howling dog by the door of the house,

The bat that lies in bed at noon,

All love to be out by the light of the Moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day

Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;

And flowers and children close their eyes

Till up in the morning the Sun shall arise.

Apollo 11 Plaque Inscription

HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969, A.D.

WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND.

(Signatures: Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin, Nixon)

Until next time – keep looking up! :)

Rob