The most beautiful sights were the twinkling stars

I saw at night, scattered like moon-dust in the jet-black sky.

They acted as beacons of hope for all the lost souls of the world,

and didn’t disappear until the twilight sun appeared in colors pink and red.

I sighed when the crescent moon was no longer visible during the day,

but I knew it and all the other planets would return.

 

I cannot plan my return

because the abyss between me and you are filled with more than just stars.

I am on a new planet, Mom, and I enjoy every day,

but don’t worry, I remember you when I peer up at the starry sky.

I am reminded of your deep love when I squint down the bottomless chasms tainted blood red.

I will always feel your presence on this world.

 

Mom, you wouldn’t believe the beauty of this world.

If you felt this serenity and freedom, you would never want to return

to Earth, where any feeling of peace is as impossible to touch as is fire colored a dangerous red.  

Stoic, confident, and always looking your best is what is expected of you, just like the stars

who can’t hide from the media, always judged through a lens or from helicopters in the sky.

Oh, I’m so grateful mission control is the only watchful eye I have to deal with every day.

 

From exploring the mountains to testing cells under the microscope, my job flies by each day.

The landscape amazes me, it is so much more pristine than your world.

A rose wine hue during daylight is the color of the sky,

and before night fall, to the bottom of the horizon the blue sun will always return.

What I love so much will appear, the bright stars

that shine above the Martian soil that is stained the color red.

 

Oh Mom, I missed your comforting support the most the time we called code red.

The hatch was opened after Elle refused anymore to see the light of day.

The plants were turned to ice, and I thought I heard laughter coming from the stars

as I sat in the eradicated greenhouse, crying for the seeds who were plucked from the world

and for Elle, who could not be saved from death or be persuaded to return.

With doubt and tears in my eyes, Mom, I looked out for you in the never-ending sky.

 

What I found staring back at me was more than just sky.

I saw your face, cheeks blushed as if they were pinched to give that hint of red.

Your eyes begged for me to return,

but also revealed a sense of proudness I thought I would never see, especially that day.

While your heart will be forever heavy because I left your world,

you can’t help but be glad I was able to achieve my dream of reaching the stars.

 

Dear Mom,

At home, I remember how magnificent the silver stars were on the pitch-black curtain draped over the sky.

This world is filled with the same wonder and possibility that I get to embrace every day,

but the Red Planet isn’t ready yet for me to return