Poets logo

Starless

Humanity's last hope

By Joseph "Mark" CoughlinPublished 3 years ago • 1 min read
Starless
Photo by Andy Holmes on Unsplash

Alpha Centauri we passed

Betelgeuse, it nova'ed at last

Canis Majoris won't host us

Double Helix Nebula, won't help us

Earth we had left behind

Far, so far from all we knew

Glieses, so many Glieses

Habitable worlds, had none they did

Iota Persei was barren too

Just one star we needed

Known to have a Goldilocks

Lacaille was a deadend

Many generations strode, starless

Nothingness for millenia

Omega Draconis, a star too far

Phecda in the Dipper

Quietly beckoned, like a temptress

Regulus and her sisters wouldn't be reached

Starless yet, a home our people yearned

Trappist gave not our scouts back

Ursa Majoris a proper planet lacked

Vega wasn't what we were told

Will the humans ever land someday

X-1 marked the way

Young stars in a distant place,

Zeti Reticuli saved the human race.

Free Verse

About the Creator

Joseph "Mark" Coughlin

Mark has been writing short stories since the early 1990s. His short story "The Antique" was published in the Con*Stellation newsletter in 1992. His short story "Seconds To Live" was broadcast in the Sundial Writing Contest in 1994.

Enjoyed the story? Support the Creator.

Subscribe for free to receive all their stories in your feed.

Subscribe For Free

Reader insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment
    Written by Joseph "Mark" Coughlin