The Space Sailor

Feb 02 '11  /  Filed under Illustration Short Fiction  Posted by
Words by Jason Roemer   Illustration by Aaron Scamihorn
http://frcio.us/4Ler

Poor Charles KellerIn two and a half hours

Charles Keller will be crushed

between the driver’s seat and dashboard

of a Monte Carlo he was planning on trading in

for an electric Leaf.

He’ll burst open in the pleasant night air

and spread over the engine block like hot apple pie.

How will he be remembered?

By the retired geologist who bought the last round

and poured him into his jacket

he’ll be toasted as the one who never quite returned to earth

from his final mission to the stars.

For the unlucky lady who twisted him around the bar

he’ll be one of the good ones who got away.

To the daughter who turned a cold shoulder

he’ll skip silently into a low orbit.

And for the family of the boy who borrowed his dad’s big Buick

and promised to be home by nine

he’ll be forever cursed as the Astronaut Junkie

who drilled a hole in the universe

the night he broke their baby in two.

Poor Charles Keller.

Poor poor Charles Keller.


Illustration by Aaron Scamihorn

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