Letter to Laika

Deliver the letter to orbit! Addressee: First cosmonaut, birthday present, not meant to come back. Send it from Baikonur! May it journey in silence around the world two-thousand-five-hundred and seventy times. I am writing to reach you, to tell you that Oleg regrets. You are unforgotten; tonight my heart is with you. A letter to Laika: May it orbit and decay to light up as shooting star in the sky – a reflection in Moscow’s straying dogs’ eyes.