Number 92, Lost in translation

Lost in translation.
A tribute to Neil Armstrong, August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012
First man on the Moon.

We mourn the passing of a man,

The leader of a tiny clan,

Who held the world spellbound one day,

As famous words we heard him say:

Never mind he slightly faltered,

And lost the meaning as he altered,

Almost imperceptibly,

By drawling, in a way that we

Couldn’t hear if he said ‘a’

Or simply got it wrong that day,

Because he was American,

It's only one small step frrr-man,
But one giant leap frrr-all mankind,
To paraphrase if you don't mind.

All the time the ‘a’ was in there,

Somewhat blurred but what do we care?

We know what the fellow meant,

Even if the sound got bent.

It had to come a long, long way,

And maybe somewhere lost the ‘a’,

Like a letter in the post,

They all arrived, well all almost.

And though just one small step it was,

A giant leap he made because,

Upon the moon no-one before,

Had ever stood, and here we saw,

It happen as we watched TV,

And knew how it was history,

Being made by this nice man,

Who showed a bit of what we can,

Achieve as humans with enough,

Of what we know as The Right Stuff!

© Stephen Saunders

Please read number 54 again now, it is an invitation to illustrate these rhymes.

bowleyfarm@gmail.com or 01428 741212

Agent / publisher / illustrators wanted.