Rescue Aborted – Michael Roque

February 21, 2026

Houston, we have a problem.
Houston—
we have—
a problem.
But no one’s saying anything.
Radio static
for an astronaut absent,
adrift in the direction of deep space.

At five—
Four—
Three—
Two—
One—
Blast off!
Who foresaw in the cosmos
a crewmate cutting their own cord?
A crew shutting eyes—
turning from a cackling crier
somersaulting among stars—
slowly floating—
from shuttle to sun.

Shivering, frostbit in shadows—
sweltering, flame-lit in sunrays,
rescue isn’t attempted—
“Mission aborted!” isn’t screamed.
An incomplete crew lands on tarmac—
a mate drifts into the deepest, isolated black,
slow-dried, stiffened—
mummified into a mystery.