The day Challenger launched,
we watched CNN from the bar
at Canaveral Pier. Mist rose
from icy water. Tourists sipped
Piña Coladas with pineapple
and paper flags. Giddy voices
chanted time in reverse:
Twenty-one seconds till liftoff.
Or—Did the announcer say
we’re down to twelve?
My husband’s lips turned blue
in the uncertain morning light.
We didn’t know,
but already suspected
trouble in his cells.
When did he begin to count down?
Life is measured
in small subtractions:
T minus this, T minus that.
Every winter, pieces wash ashore.
