A Sample of the Wreckage

[Stephen Whiteside]

A Sample of the Wreckage

Wreckage from the World Trade Centre was incorporated into two Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, in 2003.

It was just so devastating when those towers tumbled down.
A dreadful pall of dust and grief descended on the town.
How could we still remember all those lives, so innocent,
Lost and gone forever ‘midst the rubble and cement?

The news was full of stories, and it lasted many years.
We stood in silent witness to the flood of cries and tears.
We tried to drag some meaning from the chaos and the pain.
We searched for some appeasement for the souls that had been slain.

One such tiny gesture came from quarters unexpected,
From those by whom Man’s future hopes and glories are projected.
Two unmanned Martian rovers, we were told, would have in place
A sample from the wreckage that was fashioned as a case

For a pair of tools whose purpose was to grind away the rind
Of old, degraded rocks, so that scientists might find
The treasures underneath, in their quest to understand
This nearby little planet, and potential Brand New Land.

So our Past becomes our Future, and our Death becomes our Life.
What better way to sublimate such agony and strife?
It’s a glory, without question. It’s a hope beyond all measure
That the wreckage should assist us to uncover buried treasure.

So I thank those men of science, with their eyes on outer space,
And their thoughts upon the future of the fragile human race
That this symbol of such pain will take its place amongst the stars,
On these humble, unmanned rovers on the barren face of Mars.

© Stephen Whiteside 12.01.2014

[Neville Briggs]

So our Past becomes our Future, and our Death becomes our Life

Really ??

[Stephen Whiteside]

Yes, I think so, in a way.