In the heart
Of a dusty garage
Grease spots riddled the floor
As scattered memories
He labored
Hands stained black
With the oil of dreams
The rocket, his creation—
Product of midnight thoughts
That dared him to defy gravity
Hulking beast of bronze and iron
Sinews of pipes, veins of wire
Patchwork dream of a visionary
Born of spare parts, raw ingenuity
Not from schematics
But from whimsy
Control panels gleamed
Altars to the dogs of industry
Knobs the size of fists, gauges whirring
Dials twitching with frantic energy
Brass levers jutting from the console
Beckoning his hands to grip, to pull, to trust
Each switch, an unknown spell
Each button, a promise told by the cosmos
On the steel mouth of the ship
Engraved in copper filigree:
Contradicit Gravitas
Fear had once wrapped him
In a cloak of leaden atrophy
Weighing down his shoulders
But now, as kerosene shimmered in the tanks
Liquid fire encased in glass
He knew this was no place
For fear
Hiss of ignition
Garage flooded with light—
Not the soft glow of an earthly flame
But the fierce birth of a star
Heat licked at his skin
The rocket trembled
Heart stirring
From a deep sleep
He ascended
Climbing, always climbing
Through the veil of atmosphere
Heavens pierced
By the ship's metal scream
Until the stars bloomed before him
Ancient, cold, yet welcoming
His rocket
Cut the night
Mechanical sword thrust
Into the endless black
Where silence pressed in
Thick as velvet
And there, in the quiet
He felt it—
The steady confidence
Of a soul unchained
For space was no void
But a kingdom awaiting its heir
And he, once cowering
Beneath his doubts
Now
S
O
A
R
I
N
G
O
A
R
I
N
G
With the certainty
Of one who had dared
To build wings
From the wreckage of the world
No longer bound by fear
He gazed upon galaxies
And they, in turn
Gazed back
