Astronauts

All of us are astronauts
On a spaceship called the Earth
Hurtling through darkness
From the moment of our birth
Propelled along on complex arcs
By gravity's dark wheels
And all the while the Beast of time
Is nipping at our heels

But we are not the only ones
Who share this cosmic flight
For all our fellow creatures
Sail with us through the night
And everyone must play their part
This vessel to maintain
To set afire this noble ship
Would surely be insane

Onward unto death we fly
But still, we do not rest
For buried in her sacred womb
Our spacecraft does her best
To bear us safely on our way
Into the light somewhere
Don't talk to me of 'outer space'
We are already there