It began without beginning,
a blank gaze and droning thoughts
of infinite empty nothingness,
and a fear of high places.

But wonders impart a wonder;
a young man was filled with awe
at the sheer magnificence of
a constantly falling tin can.

And then Rosetta enters our scene,
and that same young man is,
for the very first time, a part
of the international awe machine.

Philae was our endeavour,
a mark of reckless curiosity.
We loved to learn from it,
and we learned to love it too.

And on Curiosity, who next should
ignite that spark but a lonely wanderer,
condemned or uplifted to endlessness
upon the dreamspace of billions.

Next comes tragedy, of a sort.
Philae sleeps eternal among the stars
and Rosetta abandons her child.
We loved and lost our own devices.

But no sacrifice is empty loss,
when the sky is our next stepping stone
from confused teenage race,
to unknown majestic purpose.