On this day in 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Sketch of the command module being hoisted aboard the USS Yorktown.

Not in the protocol

Not in the protocol
for you to photograph
anything familiar.

Your job was to be there
and record everything

and by everything
I mean

only the stuff
we don’t know.

Perhaps the protocol was vague
on this point

but

we have enough of home
for now,
thank you.

This little rebellion of yours
punched a crater
in the plan

that was scripted out for you
down to the minute.

I guess you didn’t hear
the pulse
of its demands

(not that it surprises me).

Next time, remember:

look back
at the full colors
of home

without
stopping.

the big picture

Cut text from the Apollo 8 Onboard Voice Transcription borrowed for a poem about the Earthrise photo.