Life on Mars, these days, is quite sedate,
As I sit watching blue-tinted sunsets;
Enjoying the cool, easy atmosphere,
Punctually taking tea at eight.
The views up here quite catch the eye,
Olympus Mons rising up impressive;
The horizon is glowing blazing red,
The ground awash in iron oxide.
Misty clouds roll regular across the plains
In steaming rivers of flowing dry ice;
The effects can be quite spectacular,
But frankly speaking, I do miss the rain…
But overall life seems very laidback,
With gravity causing barely a ripple;
And life is lived at an easy pace,
With trips to the sand dunes at ‘Dingo Gap.’
Place names are quite familiar, like ‘Gleneig’
For instance, or even ‘Yellow Knife Bay’;
And homesickness is now n’er a problem,
Memories of the ‘Old World’ beginning to fade.
Some drawbacks occur, I admit, that’s true,
The cold winters can seem awfully long;
And the frequent, giant, red dust storms
Lasting for weeks on end, spoiling the view.
The chances of returning are nought to slim,
Old Mother Earth now reduced to cinders;
Climate change, apparently was no hoax,
And life on Mars, some days, can seem quite grim.
But old habits have a warm familiarity
That makes this migrant existence not too bad;
The space suits, true, are awfully cumbersome,
Sitting alone here on Mars, taking tea…
Ian James
