i heard Neil Armstrong
and someone didn’t hear it right
for a quarter century they said it wrong
that july in ’69 i was 23 at 137 D in Coronado,Ca.
on the floor in front of the TV
when the 1.7 seconds delayed broadcast
coming 400,000 km from the moon
resonated around the globe
glowed black and white
the only light in our room
a he wobble hopped a bit down the ladder
and i heard one small step for man
one giant leap for mankind
and they said “for a man”
for years they did
but he said “for man”
a more generous oration
that included everyone
and i wonder, you can too, how accurate
other particulars of our world’s history are reported
Monday, October 19, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hi Jack,
My husband was nineteen the year of the first moon launch. He actually drove his motorcycle to Cape Canaveral to see the liftoff. I heard the words, too: “One small step for man…” I’ve always thought we’re supposed to believe Armstrong either swallowed the “a” as he spoke it, or that there was a blip in the transmission. But, I know what I heard.
now, years later i learn he meant to say "one small step for a man" but was nervous and messed up. he said, "for man" left the "a" out. i liked it that way.
Post a Comment