By and by Man will try 
To get out into the sky, 
Sailing far beyond the air 
From Down and Here to Up and There. 
Stars and sky, sky and stars 
Make us feel the prison bars.

Suppose it done. Now we ride 
Closed in steel, up there, outside 
Through our port-holes see the vast 
Heaven-scape go rushing past. 
Shall we? All that meets the eye 
Is sky and stars, stars and sky.

Points of light with black between 
Hang like a painted scene 
Motionless, no nearer there 
Than on Earth, everywhere 
Equidistant from our ship. 
Heaven has given us the slip.

Hush, be still. Outer space
Is a concept, not a place.
Try no more. Where we are
Never can be sky or star. 
From prison, in a prison, we fly; 
There's no way into the sky.