The perfect moon was huge above the sea The surf was easy even on the reef We were the lucky three Who slid in our canoe Through the flowers on the water And tried to read the signals in the sky We travelled with our necklaces of shell The moon was waning through the nights and days And how we dreamed of home! But we couldn't find the island Where you trade the shells for feathers We fainted in the sun's reflected blaze With cracking lips I turned to tell my friends The time had come for all of us to die "She's out a whole degree" I told them as I floated Checking readouts at my shoulder "Re-enter at this angle and we'll fry" The go for override came up from earth We took control and we flew her with our hands And how we dreamed of home! We saw the south Pacific As we fought to get her zeroed Before the heat shield started hitting air We came home in a roaring purple flame And gave the mission back to the machines We were the lucky three The parachutes deployed We were rocking like a cradle As we drifted down in silence to the sea