I rendezvoused with Buzz
as his book-tour orbited
through Toronto. Charming, handsome, and still
spry at 70-I began to wonder if these
were benefits of having been in space.

Buzz said, Imagine a cube
with no sides. Now, intersecting
the cube is a poly-
I'm staring at his ring. A large chunk
of gold with a crescent moon on one
side and swinging under his finger and up
to nestle in the bowl is a star. I want
to ask him about the ring, but
he is still talking geometry.

Buzz is preaching space
tourism. He wants to get ordinary people
into space with reusable, modular
shuttles that will lift them up
to the space hotel. He carries
models in his luggage.

Every 15 minutes
Buzz's cellular rings. He is negotiating
with studios to buy film rights
to his latest novel. You know
the basketball star
at the beginning is Michael Jordan,
but we couldn't say it.

Magnificent desolation. Buzz's
first words on the moon. That was 31 years ago.
Now it's the future,
and Buzz is playing a song for me
on his computer. His NASA astronaut
pin is docked to his lapel.
A small silver symbol
on a tailored field
of navy blue.

My Dinner with Buzz
by Carolyn Clink


NOTES:

Appeared in the chapbook,
Snapshots
May 2007.