This morning, yawning as I woke
From another Troy-trapped night
I watched Sol rise for the 2000th time
And wondered: “Was it all a dream?”
Did I really climb the scree-streaked
Side of Husband Hill? Did one night I thrill
To the sight of shooting stars and two
Silvery moons fleeing across the sky? Did I
Drag my ruined wheel for mile after endless mile,
Ploughing a ragged furrow through Barsoom’s
Cinnamon-dusted crust before Doom
Caught up with me and left me stranded
Here, impatient in this pit of ancient sand?
When I arrived, falling out of the salmon-
Hued sky, trailing a flapping banner of flame
And fury, a backshelled-Beowulf, none on Earth
Thought I would survive even a hundred nights –
Yet, here I am, alive, after two thousand!
True, I cannot move, and my horizon has
Not changed for what seems like an eternity
But I can still see, and there is beauty in every
Rock, and stone, sliver, slice and shelf of shale
Around me. And if I am fated to stand
At this wind-whipped, stony place, statue-
Still, until only ghostly traces of my graceless
Lines remain then so be it; I will not rage
Against the end of my days, I have seen
More wonders than I dared dream I would,
And I have always known that every turn
Of my wheels was carrying me closer to
The End.
They will send others after me –
Bigger, bolder, more capable machines –
But I will always be The First,
The one that faced and overcame the worst
That Mars could do and made the old
World New again for millions watching
Back on Earth. That was my worth – the rebirth
Of the Red Planet in the minds of restless men.
I’ll be forgotten, that is the way of things, but when,
One day, I’m found, and the so-long silent hills
Of Gusev ring to the sound of celebratory “She’s here!”
Cheers, they’ll speak my name again..!
© Stuart Atkinson 2009
Thanks to AstroO for the beautiful logo – designed for UMSF – at the top of this page. AstroO has also made a poster of this poem, featuring a breathtaking image from Spirit. You can find it on his blog, here: http://astro0.wordpress.com/mer-sol-2000
Astropoetry 