Gravity

Hanging in the sterile, cold vacuum of space,

Gently orbiting the Moon,

Circling the crater filled surface in the cosmic abyss of space.

The final frontier is a desolate place,

Which makes it all the more tantalizing to settle,

And plant our flag in the unclaimed territory of the Solar System.

The hardest challenges give way to the most monumental victories,

And landing successfully would be a glorious milestone

For the nation of Israel.

The thrusters roar to life,

Seemingly fueled by Israel’s fiery determination.

Guided by the steady hands of engineers who have been

Waiting for this day,

The day that Israel plants the seeds of their future in the

Fertile soil of scientific progress,

By landing on the moon.

Beresheet’s orbit slows down,

And it cautiously glides into Luna’s gravitational pull.

Silence.

The main engine is quiet.

The thrusters sputter weakly,

Defiantly trying to combat the abominable titan that is adversity.

Armed only with the will to succeed.

Their efforts have been for naught,

And Beresheet crashes into the cold, unfeeling, barren surface.

The impact shatters the structure into fragments,

Like a piece of talc, crumbling into chalky smithereens.

All is lost, no victory, no glory….

Only for this attempt.

For it is not in the spirit of Israel

To give up when faced with failure.

They shall try again, and rise up stronger than before like a

Phoenix from its own ashes.

Their burning resolve shine brightly in the night like the

Countless stars in the night sky.

Space IL has not given up, and neither will Israel.

For their next Aliyah

Lies on the Moon.

Adam Gross is a senior at Golda Och Academy in West Orange, NJ. 

Fresh Ink for Teens is an online magazine written by, and for, Jewish students from high schools around the world.