Everybody says not to rush you
soon you will be lean
and then gone
but tonight I didn’t want to point
to the moon
and say moon
I wanted to tell you about Eugene
the geological surveyor who taught the astronauts
about craters but could never get
to the moon himself
medical problems
and I could tell by the look on your face
that this broke your heart too
so I told you the part about Eugene’s ashes
taken by spacecraft the time
they went looking for water
and I didn’t know if they found any
though I wish I knew that part
because you looked so interested
but instead I just pointed
to the moon and said
Eugene’s dream
and you said moon
which was the perfect
thing to say.