Days on the Bridge

They wouldn’t let me off

And now I’m stuck here

On the bridge

So far two interceptions

That turned out to be radio signals

Bouncing off our own--

It’s this problem

We keep having

And they’re not sure

When it’s going to be fixed

And do I have to fill out paperwork

Even though they know about the problem?

Yup

Forty straight minutes of that

And then a check-in

With whoever’s in the captain’s chair

While the holo-concert happens

Three floors down

These are the days on the bridge

When I signed up

I thought it was going to be

All cosmic travel

And interplanetary communications

But it’s been six years

And the last time

We talked to a foreign life form

It just a cargo ship passing by

Run by a Fenoranian

Which look just like humans

Except the nose is slightly bluish

Nothing exciting

Nothing to write home about

When Benda invited me

To the holo-concert

I was so excited

But Friday’s are tough

And the day shift

Is even worse

No idea why they scheduled

A holo-concert for 3pm

But the live version

Is happening on a planet

That doesn’t subscribe

To any real system of time

So it might just be bad luck

Joso next to me

Is doing a crossword puzzle

And pretending to monitor

A slowly moving blip

On her screen

That we all know

Is space trash

You can tell by the temperature readings

And the fact that a satellite

Sent back a blurry image of it

And it actually looks like a super-sized

Trash can

‘Could be a bomb,’ came the word

From the captain chair

We laughed

But now Joso is keeping an eye on it

That’s what we do

We keep an eye on things

Days on the bridge

Are made up of soft murmuring

And a thousand important projects

That are all going to take

Three lifetimes to complete

Sometimes I feel like

I’m part of a pack of snails

Moving the Statue of Liberty

Across the Atlantic Ocean

We’ll make it there eventually

But by the time we do

It’ll probably be our grandchildren

Doing the pushing

A message comes in

From Sector 8

Letting us know

That a small fire’s been put out

Nowhere near the engine room

And nobody was hurt

This ship is so big

Whole problems arrive

And are vanquished

Before anybody

Even knows about them

I think about sending a communication home

But if I get caught

I’ll get...a stern talking to

The lack of risk

Eliminates any enthusiasm

For the indiscretion

Someone walks into the bridge

An intern

I forgot we ordered coffee

As the doors open
And close

Behind him

I think I can hear the music

Coming from the holo-concert

But no, that’s impossible

Then the blip on Joso’s screen turns red

And the lights on my screen flash

And I try not to smile

As the bridge

Begins

To shake