To Mars
My memory came calling
Caught me by surprise
Taking me back to a time gone away
Her hair was dark
Voice a little raspy
The freckles on her nose
Made her unique in her own way
SHE MADE HER MARK
I was black and white
She was grey
But somehow we connected
SHE MADE HER MARK
With every word she spoke
I became infatuated with her
Sense of being
SHE MADE HER MARK
Our time together was only a flash
we started a fire and let it burn
SHE MADE HER MARK
She left like a thief but that
Was her way
I often look back at the path of
My existence
And see her footprints
SHE MADE HER MARK
The rocket launch recliner
propels her to the moon;
with Ativan for fuel,
she’ll be to Saturn soon.
When shortly she returns,
both feet upon the land,
and Benadryl departs,
I hope the trip was grand!
we met at dusk in a diner on Mars
the stars were aligned and
the moons shone bright
~ at the very first glance
we knew it was meant to be
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Mars, Musk, And Bond Girls
Mars is again in the news, and Musk has been silent
about going to Mars, perhaps he has found
Another planet more suitable to his temperament
We read that four women are going to Mars, mainly
because they have been astronauts and know
a thing or two about the limitless space if one gets
to far out can disappear into a time that does not
exist and are doomed to fly while drinking tea from
a straw, worrying about whether sugar is fattening.
It might be possible to unclog the dust in hidden
river beds on Mars, it might be that the dust is dry water
that, if we have a magic formula, will spring to life
sing like a waterfall in April, create sweet dams
and a landscape unspoiled by the ugly windmills
Should Elon Musk take a renewed interest in
Mars, he has the will to go there, but will he when
As a leader, introduce democracy among the crew
or demand Mars as an authoritarian regime
Sponsor: Oliver Mckeithan
Rolling Stones Song Titles : 16 lines
submitted : 17/7/25
Placed 1st in Contest
________________________
ANGIE, my devoted dark Love
really and truly I don’t want you
UNDER MY THUMB
it hurts us both as you
PAINT IT BLACK~ makes me wanna hack
freedom’s our choice, our soul’s ardent desire
YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT
we have to escape this mad matrix mire
TUMBLIN DICE ~a dangerous dire vice
let’s gallop to the Camargue without any masks
like WILD HORSES white with gypsy flasks or
fly to Mars if we choose, to booze alongside
HONKY TONK WOMEN, then snugly snooze
each a beautiful hue, feeding our Heart’s muse
on RUBY TUESDAY, we can gaily frolic in hay
THE ROLLING STONES,WE AIN’T NO CLAY !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I took my new friend from Mars,
to the store not to the bars.
He was accompanied by his little green dog,
many thought he was a funny looking frog.
They messed their little green suits,
so no more fresh fruits.
A diaper they will need,
so they can go home and be freed.
Looking out my back door as the day slowly dies
the sun bleeding colours across the endless skies
of all the hopes I ever had
I never knew would come through
I was hoping for something would show me what to do
watching from my window the night was on the rise
the moon spreading silver above the cloudy skies
of all the dreams I ever had
I never thought would come true
I was dreaming of someone would tell me what to do
hold on to your dreams
(the planets and stars)
and you can fly to the Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mars
followed my heart wandered into the night
with a case full of hopes wishes and desires
down the path less traveled 'twas a starry sight
and there at the beach I understood
I could be whatever I wanted to be
if I held on to my dreams
and remained true to me
As their twinkle
(starshine)
takes time travel from the past
and light years
(90 billion)
to arrive across a void so vast
altho' we've been to the Moon
(and back)
Venus Jupiter and Mars
how can our future lie
not here and now on Earth
but in the planets and the stars?
We’ll hitchhike to mars
on a rocket not a car,
so say your au revoirs.
We’ll steer towards Polaris, the north star
right through the center of the milky-way-bar.
See, the universe is dark and chocolatey.
Stars that glitter like multi-faceted gems,
are just shiny, yellow, peanut M&Ms,
take a handful, if you’d like, they’re free.
We’ll dodge the silhouetted moon,
which is made of enough coconut macaroon,
to make a French confectioner swoon.
As we go streaking, like a comet’s tail,
drag a finger through Saturn’s rings as well,
those are made of marshmallow.
We’ll pass nebulae made of cotton-kandi,
and here’s a fact Einstein would have found handy,
the speed of light doesn’t apply to candy.
.
.
Ramble on by Toni Jevicky
It's not red, like they said.
It's white, green, pink, blue
And all other fascinating hues.
Not the grays I am used to.
I was told there is no air here,
Yet every breath is crisp and sheer
No masks, no tubes, no weight to bear.
Most importantly, nothing to fear.
I didn't need a suit or a flight,
Just a smile and a grip held tight.
On Mars,
Food overflows, in plates, pots and dustbins
Buildings rise, neither burned nor crumbling.
No kids with wounds from bullet strikes.
All body parts intact, not lost to any pikes.
The sky glitters even without missiles,
The dead are buried, not left in piles.
Huge cranes lift steel to kiss the sky,
Unlike ours, which lifted cries up high.
Here parents and friends grow old.
No blood-stained tents left to fold.
They said Mars holds no life.
What's this then? Afterlife?
I had heard so much about Mars
Today I learnt Mars has no Wars.
Redlight One to Mission Control!
Can you read me, Can you read me?
Are you there?
Has the comet hit you yet?
Did the 'Nuke it Baby' missile work?
Can you read me? Can you read me?
Perhaps not!
Oh well, here we all are,
in our tin can spaceship,
with our tin can robots driving the show.
With all our tin can things on board.
Tin can demountables for our homes.
Tin can of food on board stored.
Tin cans of water and all else we need.
Bit like camping in our teens.
For our colonization of Mars,
needs all these tin cans to succeed,
for a life live'n forever in,
and outta a tin can.
Hide the can opener from Elon!
Please!
Mars
seeming
emptiness
as fullness of
observation
and forms
with naming
and no names
as it seems on
Earth
Let the best of you hurt your pride
stop the contradictions it's too late
turn around smell that faith
lost in the city of gates hear the bells.
Falls of diamond rains cover
the city of greed and anguish.
Golden tears and painful dreams
no one eye sees poverty screams.
Take your beliefs your weapons
and your meals on wheels.
They think you are crazy and lazy
and your hard work does not
count or worth of any amount.
It is our time it's now or never
take their yachts golf clubs and
populate their private islands
with real hearts and blue collars.
Take back our stollen dollars
boycott oligarchy tesla cars
build back our smiles and
affordable lives save working class.
Send the rich to the mars.
God graciously gifted baby blue sky
Rainbow rippled oil painting divine
Cotton candy clouds sail like boats
Against white wind where red kite floats
Then majestic nights he hangs silver stars
Like gold tree ornaments, planets like mars
Ziggy was a sexually curious alien
A celestial rock star from sanguine Mars
a Stardust being who journeyed to Earth
A Moon Age Starman made a five-year voyage
described in Bowie's playlist as having
"a screwed down hairdo like a cat from Japan"
Bowie took on the iconic persona of Ziggy
who landed in an alley of cardboard boxes.
Maybe it was his idea of a Suffragette City
The album cover's artwork was meant
to give a view of Bowie's thoughts
on politics, drugs, sex, and his fame in the 70s.
But Ziggy felt his telescopic view of Earth
hadn't prepared him for what he found
on what he thought of as a 'voodoo planet'
Go figure, since he had spiders for friends
The fret of his guitar was silenced
by the fretting he did over feeling lost and alone
Ziggy was a space invader,
Bowie's alter ego who explored themes of fame,
identity, and societal expectations.
Back cover instructions read...
"TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME.”
To which many replied, albeit perhaps without words:
"Aye aye, Captain!"
Not meant for my ears at those decibels
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