I think it is equal in importance to that moment in evolution when aquatic life came crawling up on land.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2014Wernher von Braun on humanity entering space, Los Angeles, 1955\u20131957<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some days after work, I\u2019d rent a speedboat<\/p>\n
from Long Beach and hop it out to Catalina<\/p>\n
for an evening dive. What a thrill every<\/p>\n
time, the chill of sliding through blue skin,<\/p>\n
descending down the long teal folds of fulgid<\/p>\n
kelp. A bright humming brain of gold baubles<\/p>\n
lifting braids to the sky like a praising willow<\/p>\n
swaying in the sugared light. I was almost lost,<\/p>\n
weightless and wondering through the ocean<\/p>\n
with no one following me but the moon as it<\/p>\n
rose to look upon its navel. Omphaloskepsis: to<\/p>\n
consider the divine inside the belly. When Jonah<\/p>\n
was ankle-sunk in stomach acid, he was learning<\/p>\n
the volcano\u2019s wrath that gave birth to land. I could<\/p>\n
spend hours floating in the whale constellation,<\/p>\n
that dark, starry sea of seas. The umbilicus of space<\/p>\n
that ties us to the womb of ocean. I wanted a rocket<\/p>\n
to break through the egg with its tooth, dislocating<\/p>\n
heaven and earth\u2019s denotations. When we first<\/p>\n
fumble around in the moon\u2019s cratered belly, what will<\/p>\n
we call our new lexis? How will we learn to be in<\/p>\n
the universe but not of it once we leave behind our<\/p>\n
world? The mystical isn\u2019t in the ecstasy of floating<\/p>\n
through space, our fragile bones eroding, but in<\/p>\n
bearing the burden of our attachment toward a<\/p>\n
center. Peter met Christ on the water because<\/p>\n
he wanted to be like him. I designed Lunetta to churn<\/p>\n
out gravity for the future to meet the cosmic Christ.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Man\u2019s Dominion<\/h3>\n
And don’t tell me that man doesn’t belong out there\u00a0\u00a0[space]. Man belongs wherever he wants to go\u2014and<\/em><\/p>\nhe\u2019ll\u00a0\u00a0do plenty well when he gets there.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2015Wernher von Braun, 1958<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Standing at the edge of the Yucatan<\/p>\n
jungle, I felt an urge to just run<\/p>\n
blindly into it. The adrenaline was like a<\/p>\n
timpani drum roll, paving the entrance<\/p>\n
for the brass. I hired a guide, and as we<\/p>\n
pushed through curling palms, ferns, and<\/p>\n
snagging vines, I swear I could smell the jaguar\u2019s<\/p>\n
urine on the trees it had sprayed, hear<\/p>\n
echoes of the animals that had fled before it.<\/p>\n
I could hear a mosquito filled with a pyramid<\/p>\n
of blood. When we saw the jaguar,<\/p>\n
I became quiet as space, holding every<\/p>\n
sound against the butt of my rifle.<\/p>\n
Like when I held the liturgy candle,<\/p>\n
planning each step so I wouldn\u2019t spill the wax,<\/p>\n
trying to pretend no one was watching.<\/p>\n
His fur was glistening jet oil, his gaping mouth<\/p>\n
a range of snowcapped teeth.\u00a0The God who<\/p>\n
framed his symmetry pitch-dark dared to<\/p>\n
lock my limbs into their grooves<\/p>\n
as well. He meandered through the lushness as a black<\/p>\n
hole against a canopy of stars, his gold eyes<\/p>\n
moving like jumpy flying saucers<\/p>\n
in a child\u2019s sloppy flipbook. I aligned<\/p>\n
the crosshairs half a meter ahead of him<\/p>\n
and pulled the trigger like a prophet<\/p>\n
releasing a message before the people were ready.<\/p>\n
My throat felt as if I had swallowed too<\/p>\n
much water. I strode through the mist<\/p>\n
toward\u00a0my trophy, the graceful carcass already<\/p>\n
hazy with flies. I had my guide put it in the jeep<\/p>\n
and drive me into town to have it skinned.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
…The umbilicus of space \/ that ties us to the womb of ocean. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5708,"template":"","categories":[9,49,119],"tags":[889,1707,201,693,1708],"class_list":["post-5707","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aquifer","category-literary-features","category-poetry","tag-aquifer","tag-john-michael-bloomquist","tag-poetry","tag-space","tag-wernher-von-braun"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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