Lost Rocket

The time my son and I used an engine too big
For the rocket we launched, we never saw it
Leave the ground. Never saw it rise
Or fall or drift away below its parachute.

We heard a hiss
A white wisp –
That was it.

We searched the field and woods.
It had to be somewhere.
How could it disappear so instantly,
Irretrievably?
Soon we would see it.

For months
Whenever we went to the park
We looked for signs of it, 
A fin, a decal, some proof
That it – and we – had been there.
 
That was years ago, and Ben’s moved on
To larger engines, but still
We wonder what happened to the rocket.
Remember with overpowering
Awareness its sudden absence.
Its continuous presence.