My mother was an astronaut She spent all her time away Only ever came down for the births My father was her husband Sometimes we'd get to watch her on the TV With our dinner She was circling circling My father would sometimes cry a little And call his brother To come and comfort him The Russians did it also But much earlier - out of curiosity At first they sent up empties And then silkworms And then a monkey And finally their most efficient women These women were my mother's friends Their meetings were at first absurd And then commonplace My mother had no weight Historical or otherwise They would experiment On where cress grows best Or how to build a sky net Or how In a normal way To make life more than the sum of its parts When she got very old She retired there And was gone I only had a picture of her And was always a little shocked Because she was not glamorous