Dirge for a Forgotten Outpost
By Lazette Gifford
Category: Poetry |
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We created a new astrology here,
As through the protective dome we’d peer,
Watching for the survey ship to come back,
A star-like movement in the ebony black…
Red stars we pretended spoke of wars of old
White stars danced in patterns of fates untold
A distant planet traced hope in a path of light
Pretty pictures to wile away the forbidding night.
But the stars gave no answers to our plight
As an alien sun set to a century long night.
Computer still ticked through earth-length days,
Checking for word through the orbiting relays.
And though none among us would say
We knew a ship must soon come our way.
But the endless dark hours went past,
Supplies dwindled, and would not last.
Ice encroached ever closer to the post,
Stealing warmth, like a passing ghost,
Killing everything with a cold hand,
Stealing all life from this alien land.
One by one, my companions went away,
Some walking paths, searching for day,
Others died alone in their dark room,
An outpost abandoned to eventual doom.
But we kept the faith, Computer and I,
Scanning the stars with an electronic eye,
Till finally we were the very last,
And all hope of rescue long since past.
Now I sit beneath the ice-glazed dome,
Sipping warm tea … a last taste of home.
A laser is aimed at the weak wall to the right
But first tell me, Computer, old friend…
…Do the stars move tonight?
About the Author: Lazette Gifford’s published work includes two chapbooks and half a Double Dog from Yard Dog Press (Honor Bound, Star Bound and Farstep Station). Her story, "Between a Rock and a God’s Place", appeared in the Issue #21 of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, and she’s had numerous stories published in ezines and small press anthologies. Her novels include The Dark Staff Series and The Singer and St. Jude Series from Double Dragon Publishing, Muse and Ruins from One More Word Publishing, and the upcoming Mirrors from Zumaya Press. Lazette is the owner of Forward Motion (http://fmwriters.com), a large on-line community for writers, and she is the editor for Vision: A Resource for Writers (http://lazette.net/vision), now in its seventh year of production. She is also the Associate Publisher for Dragon Tooth Fantasy, an imprint of Double Dragon Publishing.
Lazette’s home page: http://lazette.net
Blog: http://zette.blogspot.com/
