Voyage to Nowhere
C.J. Carter-Stephenson
Originally published in The Fifth Di..., September 2013.
A mechanical beast,
In the void of space,
Seal sleek scout-ship
Back from its mission.
Firing its boosters,
It throws itself clear -
Clear from the clutches
Of a fiery explosion.
Battered and buffeted
Like a leaf in a cyclone,
It battles bravely
To make its escape.
The instruments screech,
The inhabitants scream;
Their planet is no more
And they don't know why.
A blazing light
Is all that they see
As they stare in horror
Through the pearly portholes;
It burns their eyes,
But they can't look away -
Their faces stay pressed
To the oblivious glass.
Then comes the debris
In a mercurial wave -
The shattered shell
Of an egg fragile world.
It hits them hard,
Scarring their ship
And yet they survive
Against the odds.
The storm subsides
And all is quiet -
The stifling silence
Of non-sentient space.
A people's womb
Has been torn apart
And the crew are left
With nowhere to go.
No habitable haven
Lies within reach;
Wherever they fly,
They fly to their doom.
So a lustful trio
Defile a fair victim -
In the face of death,
Morals take flight.
The right of C. J. Carter-Stephenson to be identified as the writer of this poem has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author, or a license permitting restricted copying.
