Skylab

　　 by Rolf Jacobsen

　　 Translated by Roger Greenwald

　　 We've come so far， thought the astronaut

　　 as he swam around the capsule in his third week

　　 and by accident kicked a god in the eye

　　 --so far

　　 that there's no difference anymore between up and down，

　　 north and south， heavy and light.

　　 And how， then， can we know righteousness.

　　 So far.

　　 And weightless， in a sealed room

　　 we chase the sunrises at high speed

　　 and sicken with longing for a green stalk

　　 or the heft of something in our hands. Lifting a stone.

　　 One night he saw that the Earth was like an open eye

　　 that looked at him as gravely as the eye of a child

　　 awakened in the middle of the night.