Space Junk
Kitchen spatula,
hammock, pliers,
family photo,
needles, wires,
fuelling tanks,
some bolts and cogs,
an astronaut’s glove,
rats, monkeys, dogs,
metal, motors,
rocket debris,
cables, cameras,
crystallised pee,
Lego figures,
Tesla car,
the ashes of
some TV stars,
dead satellites,
an American flag,
astronaut poo,
(ninety-six bags),
chips of paint,
a bag of tools,
old launch vehicles,
lost golf balls.
A million objects
speeding through space
or left on the moon.
What a disgrace.
hammock, pliers,
family photo,
needles, wires,
fuelling tanks,
some bolts and cogs,
an astronaut’s glove,
rats, monkeys, dogs,
metal, motors,
rocket debris,
cables, cameras,
crystallised pee,
Lego figures,
Tesla car,
the ashes of
some TV stars,
dead satellites,
an American flag,
astronaut poo,
(ninety-six bags),
chips of paint,
a bag of tools,
old launch vehicles,
lost golf balls.
A million objects
speeding through space
or left on the moon.
What a disgrace.
*All these items really have been left behind in space. According to the European Space Agency Space Environment Report 2024, the actual number of space debris objects larger than 1cm in size is over one million.
This poem is copyright (©) Jacqueline Shirtliff 2026
About the Writer
Jacqueline Shirtliff
Jacqueline is a poet and primary school teacher on the Isle of Man. One of her favourite things is helping children to love poetry and reading and encouraging them to be writers themselves. She lives in a rose-covered cottage near the sea and enjoys gardening, crochet, and playing the tuba and harp, but not all at the same time! You can read some of her other poems in The Caterpillar, Tyger Tyger, Northern Gravy, The Toy, and Little Thoughts Press.
