poems about Laika (the soviet space dog)
i’ve been hunting for one in specific, and during my quest, i have seen that very many beautiful poems about this creature have been written. I wanted to compile them.
“first dog in space” by brennig davies / “They say that, from space, the Earth looks like a small, blue ball. I’ll throw it for you, Laika, if you’ll chase it, dart through the stratosphere like a comet, undeserving of its fate.”
“laika” by claire williamson / “for three hours she was weightless, pulse racing, but ate her dinner, alive to see an orbital sunrise.”
“laika” by adnana zeljkovic / “Paddling with her soft paws in inimical vacuum, (nothing to draw you to your bosom like Mother Earth’s gravitation) herself soft snowflake,”
“laika” by paul gerard reed / “The stars that shone have all gone out as man betrayed your trust, but your spirit is still in place somewhere, out there in space.”
“laika” by dave lewis / “But when you gave me that final kiss on the nose I suppose deep down inside I knew my destiny lay among the stars. Alone, in silence, I watched the world spinning round, one thousand miles below.“
“i remember laika” by jan oskar hansen / “The farewell can’t be delayed a boy has run to the outer field sits on a stone tries not to cry the struggle to accept the unavoidable.”
“muttnik” by tumblr user @fateology / “I don’t mind. I just miss you. I miss you like the space that lies between two breaths. Full to burning.”
“for the first dog in space” by lavinia greenlaw / “Laika, do not let yourself be fooled by the absolute stillness that comes only with not knowing how fast you are going. As you fall in orbit around the earth, remember your language. Listen to star dust. Trust your fear.”
“laika” by sarah doyle / “Brave little cosmonaut, caught and collared, Earth no more than a distant ball with which you cannot play.”
“laika” by adrian sobol / “If there is light, it’s pressing down on you. Something stirs inside it.”
“first the dog” by zbigniew herbert / “awkwardly we bump into stars / we see nothing we hear nothing / we beat with our fists on the dark ether / on all the wavelengths is a whining”
you are welcome to add more poems to this post if you have any in mind to recommend.
gracieabrams
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
tangentwithtanner
