Paul Hartal - Endangered Species: The moon

Dear Moon, <br />Old faithful friend <br />of lovers and romantics, <br />you are our nearest celestial body, <br />a main distance of 238,857 miles <br />from Earth, <br />with a lunar globe diameter <br />Of 3473 kilometers, <br />and nevertheless, <br />we can hide you by a finger <br />held at arm's length. <br /> <br />Dear Moon, <br />Only natural satellite of Earth, <br />You move in a slightly elliptical orbit <br />With a period of sidereal revolution <br />In 27 days,7 hours,43 minutes <br />And 11.5 seconds, <br />But I still have some concerns <br />Deep down in my heart. <br /> <br />An untold variety of lunar seas, <br />oceans, craters and mountains <br />cover your face, <br />and, along with the Sun, <br />You cause the tidal action, too. <br /> <br />And, o, dear Moon, <br />You are always opaque, <br />and you are only visible to us, <br />because the Sun and Earthlight <br />illuminate your surface. <br />But this is not a serious problem. <br /> <br />On the other hand, <br />well, dear Moon, <br />last night <br />I was somewhat anxious, <br />as the shadows were growing <br />on the ceiling of my room <br />into strange fairy tales. <br />So I went carefully to the window <br />and saw your enigmatic crescent <br />of your visible face. <br /> <br />And then <br />I uttered a sigh of relief: <br />You were still there! <br /> <br />Still my dear Moon, <br />I read that in time to come <br />You might be redesigned <br />And turned into something <br />entirely different from today. <br /> <br />Blueprints for Lunar settlements <br />are already in the works <br />on designers' tables <br />and in the future <br />cities built by astronauts <br />will gyrate and revolve restlessly <br />in aloof outer space. <br /> <br />And so sooner <br />than we would think, the night <br />could be illuminated by artificial light, <br />emanating from contrived satellites. <br /> <br />And then dear Moon, perhaps, <br />You will feel that you are <br />not needed anymore <br />and on a long white night <br />You might even decide <br />to leave us entirely alone, <br />relocating to another cosmic arena <br />and becoming less than an illusion <br />of coded image on the retina.<br /><br />Paul Hartal<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem..../endangered-species-