“The night before chemo, I watch Artemis II launch into space,” Poem, Candace Kronen.

Four people heading farther past the moon than anyone has ever gone. 

The newscaster claims that space exploration is the most human act we can do. 

Maybe it is. 

To make it to the edge of all we know and then keep going.

Candace Kronen is a poet living in Ontario, Canada. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net, as well as shortlisted for the 2026 Central Avenue Poetry Prize and longlisted for Only Poems' Bob Hicok Fellowship. Candace is the co-editor of the poetry anthology If You Ever: Poems Inspired by Kim Addonizio. Additional writing can be found on Substack at "Stories I'll Tell My Daughter" and on Instagram @candacekronenpoetry.