Apogee

Sailing round the true-blue sphere---
Is it too late to bale out of here?
Well, there has to be some better way
To turn back the night
Spin on to yesterday

The old man and his crew---
After all these years
It's apogee
Pilot training and remorse---
Spirit friends fly too
At apogee
Apogee --- solar bright
Apogee --- through the night
Apogee --- overground
Don't think I'll be coming down

Screened for a stable mate
With nerves of ice we flew
At apogee
No creativity allowed
To pass through stainless veins of steel
At apogee
Apogee --- put the kettle on
Tight-lipped --- soldier on
High point --- communicate
Don't forget to urinate

So glad they put this window in
How to explain, how to begin?
See! Tennyson and Wordsworth there
Waiting for me in the cold, thin air

Beware a host of unearthly daffodils
Drifting golden, turned up loud
Tell the boys back home
I'm gonna get some

The Wrong Stuff's loose in here ---
I'm climbing up the walls
At apogee
So hoist the skull and bones ---
Death and glory's free
At apogee

A stranger wind, a solar breeze ---
I'm walking out upon the starry seas
See pyramids, see standing stones ---
Pink cotton undies and blue telephones

Goodbye, cruel world that was my home ---
There's a cleaner space out there to roam
Put my feet up on the moons of Mars ---
Sit back, relax and count the stars