For Carl

You took us on a personal voyage
from the nucleus of the cell
to the edge of forever.
From the compassionate people
to the malevolent ones.
You showed us the Anasazi and the Tlingit.
You showed us Kepler and Eratosthanes.

A glorious dawn you said awaits,
and from it we will voyage to the stars.
To the stars, and the worlds that orbit them.
You wrote the Encyclopedia Galactica.
You asked the tough questions, and gave the tough answers.
You were smarter than Isaac, smarter than the leaders.

You are the greatest spokesman I've ever heard.
You showed the world the pale blue dot.
Without you, there'd be no pale blue dot.
Well, it wouldn't be pale or blue at least.
You put the naysayers in their place, and the rest of us as well.

You're the cosmic mariner, you took the helm.
The captain, you sailed to the far reaches of the cosmic ocean.
You're magic dragon descend all around you, and great things it helped you with.
You're the compass, the sail, the rudder, and the keel, you're the entire ship.

When the world finds our starry cousins, we'll look back on you.
And we'll say, "This man told us this day will come, and so it has."
We won't forget you, we can't, we don't want to, and we never will.

"We know who speaks for the nations.
But who speaks for the human species? Who speaks for Earth?"

You do, you speak for the human species. You speak for Earth.