Mars-bound…

He thinks the complexities
of climate change
too gnarly to
change course

he’s set his sights
on settling another planet
spaffing mega bucks
to fire off rockets

some of which increased
his wealth – seeding satellites
in an unholy net across
the heavens

a net, he says, to give others
the power to learn
– the dream of making
it to the top like him

the power to aim weapons
but his finger is always
the one on the kill switch
if your aims don’t match his…

the power to fly uber-rich
to admire the blighted
but still beautiful Earth from
brief sub-orbital sojourns

he thinks himself above
the hoi polloi
spends his millions
to bend their votes

will his legacy be any more
than Ozymandias
half buried in the
desert sands of Mars?

© Andrew Wilson, 2026

Over at dVerse Poets Pub, lillian is hosting Live, OpenLinkNight, when we can post a poem of our choice – I wrote this for Akua Lezli hope’s Mini Speculative Poetry Book challenge…