Exit

“I am strong”-
Armstrong showed
For us
What  really courage is ,
When you   rely 
On your will
And your way
Seventeen second
of fuel left
And cannot help
computer
Archangel
Or any other
Holy man
You must make
All decisions
Yourself
Your  own
And in Washington
Already
ready
 panegyric -
In  case ,-
big  version
That astronauts disappear -
There  ,
But Armstrong   made
 His  steps on the Moon
He entered a new great place
Without
 any weapons
He  opened  new era
New  human sense
There exists  only the best
Engineering thought
And strong character
Like Armstrong .

Review on this poem
This poem by Marina Koujman transforms one of humanity’s greatest technological moments into a philosophical meditation on courage, responsibility, and the future of civilization. Using the figure of Neil Armstrong not merely as a historical astronaut but as a symbolic human being standing alone before the unknown, the poem explores what true strength really means.
The title itself, “Exit,” suggests both danger and breakthrough: a departure from old limitations and an entrance into a new stage of human consciousness. The opening line — “I am strong” — hidden inside the name Armstrong becomes a striking poetic discovery. Koujman turns a surname into a universal statement about human will. This wordplay gives the poem intellectual and emotional resonance at the same time.
The poem’s fragmented structure creates tension and urgency. Short abrupt lines imitate interrupted breathing, emergency communication, and the psychological isolation of a man forced to make decisions when technology, religion, and external authority can no longer guarantee safety. Particularly powerful are the lines describing the final seconds of fuel and the realization that neither computers, nor archangels, nor “holy men” can save the astronauts. At that moment, the human being is left alone with his own judgment and courage.
Yet the poem is not tragic. Its emotional movement leads upward toward transcendence. Armstrong’s step onto the Moon becomes more than a scientific achievement — it becomes an ethical alternative to violence. One of the poem’s deepest ideas is that humanity reaches its highest level not through war or domination, but through intelligence, engineering thought, discipline, and inner strength.
Koujman contrasts cosmic exploration with the brutality that has dominated so much of human history. The Moon landing here is presented almost as a spiritual event accomplished “without any weapons.” This gives the poem a rare moral dimension unusual in contemporary poetry about technology. Science is not shown as cold machinery, but as a manifestation of the noblest human qualities.
The language intentionally preserves a certain rawness and directness, which adds authenticity to the poem’s voice. Rather than polished academic verse, “Exit” reads like a visionary poetic manifesto — emotional, philosophical, and driven by genuine belief in humanity’s unrealized potential.
In this sense, the poem belongs to a tradition of cosmic humanism, where exploration of space becomes inseparable from the moral evolution of mankind itself.