I stand at the tip of the galaxy,
Astride the infinity of the cosmos,
Alone in an endless black ocean,
A soul adrift beyond heaven and hell.

It was one small step for a man
and one giant leap for mankind,
Fifty years in the golden past,
Though mine stretches further.

Ten years after those famous words
drifted unheard into the abyss,
I strode onto the launch pad,
Co-ordinates set for infinity.

Scarcely a quarter of an Earth cycle
saw me enter the belt of rocks,
Out of rightful place and time,
Beyond my home's red neighbor.

For a further three quarter cycles
I constant evaded an eternal barrage,
After an isolated anniversary dance
I left the belt of ice behind me.

Onwards to eternal glory I travel
ferrying the sounds of my world,
Of whales, oceans, Mozart and Berry
an offer of welcome to a new form.

A lonely winter voyage interrupted,
A vast world with four disciples
bars my way across the cosmos
respectfully I watch rather than touch.

This large and intimidating world
constantly appears to wage war
its skies filled with maelstroms,
My eyes captivated by a large red battle.

I turn my eyes to the four brothers,
Appearing calm compared to the elder,
Red plated callisto stands silent
Europa as white as virgin a bride

Ganymedia stands tall despite the scars
its surface constantly battered by the rays,
Lo reflects the red corona of its brother
the fire mountain the heart of its fury.

As the world I left devours these images
I continue my journey through the unknown,
One and a half cycles pass me by
when I happen on yet another new world.

The great sphere that is saturn
famous for its unbroken ring
of ice, dust and debris
a natural guard of its heart.

Like Jupiter, this world had brothers,
Mimas, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Titan,
Five vast satellites orbiting their masterworld,
The far reach of the cosmos cools their ardour

for I do not see fire mountains at their hearts,
Nor do I witness waging maelstroms,
Rhea kin to Mercury, Titan covered with haze
nothing else makes these moons stand out.

With the planetary mission at its terminus
I continue to fly farther into the great beyond,
Twenty-one cycles after my journey's genesis
I captured the family portait of my galaxy.

Just eight cycles later and I was truly alone
surpassing the travels of my older brother,
My mission now is to wander the unknown
sending back diaries of untapped wilderness.

I have power for at least another thirteen years
I have no end co-ordinates to aim for
I have no way to return to the world of my creator
So onwards to glory I shall forever go.