What Martians Read

By Mary Soon Lee

All the miscellaneous minutiae

mandated by law and circumstance:

dosimeters, depressurization protocols,

equipment manuals, mineral assays,

cargo manifests, import/export tariffs,

texts on recycling, hydroponics,

agroecology, autonomous mining.

Commonplace. Practical. Dull.

And, in addition, assorted information

on moles and meerkats—

their diet, habits, inclinations,

care, breeding, lineages,

profiles of popular individuals

with every exploit exaggerated,

plus volume after volume

of fanciful fossorial fiction—

as if it were not enough

that Martians dwell underground

but that they must elevate this act

to art, to a matter of principle,

praising the burrowing beasts

they ferried with them at such cost,

spending every spare scrap of scrip

on earthworms, beetles, soil

to please their small compatriots.

DreamForge Anvil © 2022 DreamForge Press

What Martians Read © 2022 Mary Soon Lee