Apollo

One of the main themes in “Apollo” is strangeness, or something usual or unsettling that is either surprising or difficult to comprehend. The men walking on the moon on the television are the main example of this. The poem takes place in 1969, with the first crewed mission to the moon (Apollo 11). Watching this feat, the speaker describes the odd, unearthly experiences of the space mission (the “talking through / static” [Lines 24-25]; the “bounces in space- / boots” [Lines 25-26], etc.). The theme of strangeness expands as the speaker states, a bit disappointedly, that the moon is hugely different than it appears from earth (it’s “not green, not cheese” [Line 16]). Seeing the moon up close on TV, it suddenly appears very different than expected, leading to an unsettling feeling of unease and disbelief.

Alexander explores strangeness further in the final lines of the poem. As the speaker describes the men walking on the moon, bouncing through craters with their corded tethers, they state how strange it all seems. However, the strangeness expands when the speaker compares the men walking on the moon with their own feeling of “strangeness” by existing in the world as a Black child.