Morning on Mars
Like it did on Earth,
even the weaker sunlight on Mars,
streaming through my bedroom window
here at the polar research base,
energizes me.
My nocturnally exhaled water vapor,
condensed on the cold-seeped window,
has fractally frozen, splintering the light.
Morning ritual:
clear window,
peer out,
check weather
(less variety here).
Faintly ringed sun in a salmon sky
suggests "snow" showers later.
Shadows from buildings and equipment
shield frozen carbon dioxide
from the sublimating rays of sunlight,
developing frosty photo negatives
on the red plain.
Bright reflection off the polar cap,
an echoing mental flash:
enough passive peering from in here,
off to active probing out there....