Thursday, April 17, 2025

Heroes by Terry Allen

 

Space dogs Veterok and Ugolyok



Heroes

 

He was 5’2” and a giant of his time.

Yuri was the first man to go into space,

for a flight in 1961 that lasted

108 minutes as he circled

the Earth once, thinking of God

and perhaps a stray dog

from the streets of Moscow,

who was the first animal to orbit

the Earth eleven years earlier.

 

We don’t know his thoughts

about this Soviet mutt who overheated

and died in flight, but we do know

that Yuri Gagarin once said:

An astronaut cannot be suspended

in space and not have God on his mind

and in his heart.

© Terry Allen

Enjoy more posts by Terry Allen HERE.

Terry Allen

Terry Allen is an Emeritus Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he taught acting, directing, and playwriting. He directed well over a hundred plays during his thirty-eight years of teaching. A few favorites include: Candide, Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and The Threepenny Opera. He is the author of five poetry collections: Monsters in the Rain, Art Work, Waiting on the Last Train, Rubber Time, and Preserving the Past for the Present.

1 comment:

  1. It is hard not to have God in mind when faced with the miracle of the universe.

    ReplyDelete

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