It Bounced

[Stephen Whiteside]

It Bounced

It bounced. Not once, but twice it bounced,
Then came at last to rest
Beneath a cliff in shadow deep.
Exhausted, then, it fell asleep,
An uninvited guest.

It bounced, the ESA announced.
The harpoon didn't fire.
The drill bits also didn't turn.
The boffins felt their stomachs churn,
And feared the public's ire.

It bounced. Although the maths was trounced,
Pragmatic features failed.
It raced another mile away.
Although it came, at last, to stay,
The rock was not impaled.

It bounced. Like cats, reporters pounced.
Will the lander wake?
Has the mission all been lost?
Can we justify the cost?
Was it a mistake?

It bounced. The ESA girl flounced,
And batted both her eyes.
She placed her weight upon one hip.
The question could not get a grip,
While she looked calm, and wise.

© Stephen Whiteside 17.11.2014

[Neville Briggs]

Every year in Australia, hundreds of people including many young people take their own life. Maybe the scientific geniuses can bounce that around in their heads for a solution.

[Stephen Whiteside]

I'm not sure astrophysicists make the best psychologists, Neville.