Dead of Space

Thin evening light is crushed by gathering clouds.
Our suits set off their warning signals.
Time to scurry back inside.
Temperature plummets.
Foliage glows green.
Sudden wild wind rakes the blue bones
of the trees.
Flakes drop heavy from the gray.
It is an Earthling's point of no return.
A distant howl warns of more hungry wildlife to come.

A blizzard is about to blind this world.
We're indoors, nailed deep to rock, until it all blows over.

Look at us. Scientists. Doctors. Military.
We're all cocooned in our responsibility.
It's only boredom, a planet that won't cooperate,
that brings us together.
No stove. No radiators. No thick layer of blankets.
This is not long ago on Earth.
It's here and now.
We're chemically provided for.
The temperature, the air, are regulated to our needs.
Here comes an astrophysicist
down the corridor toward me.
Come on. Smile.
Surprise me.