A Prayer on Ganymede
Save my crew members:
first mate, engineer,
science officer, navigator,
even the lousy cook.
Save them from the red wind
and the insidious foliage
with its thorns like claws.
Save them from the horned beast
and the devil with seven eyes
and the sky that rains fire.
Save them from cracks
in their helmets,
rips in their suits,
and spears in their guts.
Save the rookies
who’ve never before been
on a planet where
they couldn’t breathe the air.
Save the veterans
of many a perilous journey
into these forbidding netherworlds.
And, if you’ve time,
even save me,
though I’ve done enough
for ten lives,
been in more hazardous positions
than I’ve had hot Cerulean women.
And, when you’re done
bailing out my ragtag troop,
come with us,
save yourself.
This place can then go back
to being godforsaken.