They launched you in happier days
Of wide lapels, long shirt collars
And baggy trousers
The year Elvis died
And Hotel California was a hit
Your mission to enter
Inter stellar space
Bearing gifts
An eight track tape recorder
A computer
With 240,000 times
Less memory
Than a mobile phone
Also a nuclear reactor
Just a small one
Nothing nasty
You took your time
We nearly lost interest
But today the news
Is that you have left
The solar system
Apparently you are moving
At eleven miles per second
Not so slow
After all
Soon we will lose all contact
As your journey continues
Into infinity
Perhaps we will never know
How our gifts were received
How our gifts were received
Those recordings of birdsong
The President’s message
The music of Beethoven,
Mozart, Blind Willie Johnson
And Chuck Berry
All presents from a small
Distant world
But at least we can answer confidently
The annoying question every child asks
“Are we there yet?”
Yes we are!
©David Subacchi
