A Scientist Weeps for Laika
We didn't lie, Kudryavka.
Or—
We lied, but not because they told us to.
Or—
I lied, because I wanted to think
it was all worth something,
for you
if no one else.
Now they're saying you never even saw the stars.
Kudryavka, did you know?
20 years later, from over the sea
they threw a disc for you to chase.
Kudryavka, did you know?
There's a constellation shaped like you.
Kudryavka, did you know?
40 million years ago
there might have been a racecourse round the Earth.
Kudryavka, do you know
how many poems there are about you?
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