Forever Alone

It’s time for me to say goodbye

Tomorrow the communication unit

Will be switched off forever….

Doomed to fly alone through space and time

She’s old news forgotten by many

Stuck in a dark hole

Unable to communicate hopes and fears

Only able to share some of her precious secrets

Intrepid adventurer, cast into the depths of space

In the arms of her companion controller

Rosetta and Philae comet hunters extrodinaire

Completed a ten year journey to Comet 67P

Launched into space to land on the flying frozen mass

Landing, bouncing and flying

Anchors and harpoons malfunctioning

She stopped and wedged in a fissure location unknown

Eighty hours of scientific data produced

Sent 510 million miles back to earth

then batteries died her dark resting place

shielding her from solar power

As the comet flew nearer the sun

Philae revived briefly sending more data

Exact location on the comet unknown

Until one month before Rosettas demise

Philea photographed in her final resting place

The search is over I’ve found @Philae2014

Tweets bouncing around the ether

Are they reaching her as she flies wind in her hair

Samantha Beardon 2017 ©