With the news of Opportunity completing a marathon on Mars I thought it a good time to post this from a  few years back. First published in James Gunn's Ad Astra and then in my collection The Poet of Utah Park

Silent Spirit

The pictures were brilliant

the best ever seen from the

surface of Mars. Then

as it reached out

to touch that surface,

like Adam reaching

to touch the finger of God,

it died, sending only a

nondescript tone across

millions of miles –

a heart monitor flatlined

leaving humanity listening

with perked ears and

waiting on Opportunity.

Kenny A. Chaffin