Liftoff
by Vanessa Blakeslee
The boom of the space shuttle rattles at first light.
The astronauts stagger and squint in the sunlight.
A boy scores goals in a grassy, burnt field, returns
hours later, points his telescope in the moonlight.
A couple twirls and dips to a big band classic,
settles breathless into seats, clasps hands in delight.
A girl en pointe practices her port de bras, dreams
of one day dancing Broadway, shining her starlight.
Driving east to teach the first class of the spring term,
the poet spots the shuttle’s plumes, the blazing light.
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- | Vanessa Blakeslee
Vanessa Blakeslee’s work has been recognized by grants and fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Yaddo, the Ragdale Foundation and the United Arts of Central Florida, and has appeared in Green Mountains Review and The Southern Review , among other journals. She was a finalist for the 2011 Philip Roth Residency at Bucknell University and the Sozopol Fiction Seminars. Please visit http://www.vanessablakeslee.com for more.