N.E.O. Near Earth Object. A solid body whose orbit lies within the orbit of Mars. Moons Asteroids. Meteorites. And human debris. You can see a meteorite almost any night. Go out to the desert You might find a piece. They are pieces of stars, Same as you and me They have travelled through space for thousands of years. Perhaps you will get lucky But you will never find a piece of Soyuz Or Sputnik or Apollo 9 They are still out there They are very faint And the pollution in earths atmosphere Washes out their pale light Floating without air, without light Or else - charred on the re-entry They are still out there floating Within the orbit of Mars. Look at it this way: A river of space, a ribbon of time Like a burial by a beaurocrat Undercover of a cold war risk. A cloud of dust-a cloud of rubble Spinning in space on the heels of the Hubble A parallel, or a temporal rip In the belly of the Cosmos Somewhere in a hanger A fossilized finger Stored by the government, hidden from the press Some young top gun s first solo Turned out to be a N.E.O.