The Mission To Mars! Poem by Denis Martindale

I had trained for this mission to Mars for so damned long,
Driven on by a compulsion to complete the task,
No matter what…
Chosen from hundreds yet among the final five
And weary of the physical exercises, but still on the team…
Well into my thirties, yes, but driven on…
Not by fame and fortune, or prestige, but ambition.
I hungered to get to Mars.

The journey was tedious, a long drawn-out affair,
No disguising that, everyone felt it…
But when we could see Mars for the first time,
In the distance, just waiting for us,
Man, I was overcome… and I wasn't the only one who wept…

The landing was without event, just as we had trained for,
I was the first man to walk on Mars, the first, get it?
Not the second, third, fourth or fifth…
I drew the highest card from the pack,
It was a dream come true…

And when I got back to Earth,
Reporters asked me,
What did it feel like?
So I told them straight,
Man, it was out of this world!


Denis Martindale June 2016.