Imagining Colonization

Imagine the coldness
of a colony on Mars which only
rises above freezing
on the warmest of summer days

Imagine the way we would forge
bodies of metal
titanium skeletons to ward off the chill
fine red powder from the Martian dust storms
grinding in the gears of our once-sinew-strapped
now-polished joints

Imagine discovering
a water we no longer need
ancient wellspring old as our fragile-skinned
ancestors. Older.

Imagine trekking the polar caps,
smooth plains, descending into
the Valles Marineris

Imagine finding the remnants
of rovers, relics of another planet’s past
– a giant of light on a dark horizon –
an ancient story, a fairy tale half forgotten
lost in our circuits, whirring
beyond the reach of extinction.

By Jay Douglas

Biography:

Jay Douglas is a recent graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with an undergraduate dual degree in English and Religious Studies. Jay enjoys cats, not going outside, collecting yo-yos, and being unapologetically queer.