Distant Farewell

 

 

Distant Farewell

•

“I’ve watched
golden fire clouds,
hanging in pale green skies,
over the azure seas of Toluras”

“I’ve seen the copper leaves
of the parmus fronds
flashing from indigo mountains
in the crystal mists of Gemin.”

“I have beheld exquisite beauty
in my rich, full life
but none so beautiful
as your eyes tonight”

Artheo whispers
his breath warms
the tender lobe
of my eager ear

he presses his lips
softly to mine
with gentle passion
bids me farewell

three hours past
I can still taste him

now here I am
hurtling through space
on the aft deck
I am watching

a sudden chill
been here, done this
precisely this
in every detail

but impossible
it’s my first time aboard
a foreboding grips me
I shiver as I watch

the jade-sapphire orb
as it grows smaller
less relevant
it now recedes

visible
through carbon-Lucite

zero-g frost
forms and obscures
this breathtaking view
of the lush planet

our home planet
Gaia

a place
some now onboard
will not again see
for fifteen years

if they are
counted among
the fortunate
who do return

we race
exceeding light-speed
toward a distant
call for help

unknown destiny
in uncharted space
with no idea
what we will encounter

the call made it certain
no good lay ahead

I am Sephias
going to Topiarus
to return
in a year’s time

I am distraught
emotionally
the anxiety
of separation

intense pressure
permeates the crew

who go the distance
to the edge of space
to answer
the cry for help

it is contagious
I feel this too

I feel ungrounded
each time I choose
to leave my man
while on a mission

my soul mate
Artheo

our love is deep
it has withstood
these essential
separations

we understood
when I joined Off•World
that separation
came with the program

but knowing this
makes it no easier

my anxiety
is heightened further
given this mission’s
uncertainty

at Off•World Corp
we are involved
in new-resources
exploration

we’re scientists
not trained spacetroopers
our expertise
not military

this ship
the Thadius
is a space schooner
solar-wind powered

a research vessel
fast and agile
not suited
for space combat

the security force
we have onboard
trained to defend
not to attack

they protect us
from known threats
on our journeys
through known space

this mission’s different
this is dangerous

the Dextorium
was an advance ship
sent to reconnoiter
9 months ago

the Dextorium
did in fact carry
a battle-trained
spacetrooper force

but it has now
fallen silent
for many months
not a word

to take my mind
off things disturbing
I drift to Artheo
to our last kiss

he manifest
a calm brave face
at our goodbye
but I knew better

now together
two centuries
rest assured
I know my man

a 40-year
no-birthing period
our second
now nears its end

soon
we will enter
what is our third
free-birthing cycle

we both welcome
the sabbatical
of twenty years
that it affords

we’ve begotten
families
in prior cycles
and love them both

we now dream
of this newest family
our near future
holds in store

this coming family
is most important
in our lives
Artheo and I

state edicts dictate
3rd cycle families
caretake their fosters
as health declines

as we move closer
to our expirement
and cryogenic
hibernation

this new family
will be our comfort
as our latest life-phase
draws to a close

as I reflect
I am disrupted

a sudden chaos
panicked commotion
on the foredeck
there is great alarm

I rush forward
in time to see
a startling scene
begin to unfold

there in front
of our speeding ship
a menacing field
of strange devices

they begin to spread
with apparent logic
to form a grid
blocking our path

acting intelligent
with a single mind
as though a sentient
living thing

they are immense
and they are many
as they assemble
in net-like fashion

as far left and right
as one can see
they are there
from top to bottom

spread far too vast
to travel around
their advancing speed
we cannot outrun

as we approach
the steely web
their acceleration
becomes exponential

no doubt we’re on
a collision course

suddenly
my senses jolt
I stagger back
in shock and awe

it is now quite clear
what fate befell
our advance party
and it looks like – others

they’ve been, well…
they’ve been absorbed
by this horrific
electronic death-mesh

we are defenseless
we on the Thadius
can only stare
frightened — but spellbound

the crew’s emotions
now run the gamut
tears fill most eyes
as hell approaches

it’s then I see it
in the grey-green carbon
and cold blue steel
closing upon us

captured life-energies
of the Dextorium crew
and countless others
that have come before

their vital essence
has been consumed
by this entangled nightmare
that now besets us

their images flicker
in and out of focus
trapped in the grid
held fast – and hopeless

empty looks
of complete surrender
bewildered faces
living ghosts

this thing is coming
this host of evil

terrified
I feel helpless
so confused
and so alone

its then I rush
to my solarcomm
to send a message
to Artheo

bravely
I begin
by sharing poetry
as is our custom

“I’ve heard the haunting call
of the coral winged Lellurt
in Droon’s violet skies
over teal Darpin Bay”

“right now,
I want to hear
your soothing voice
my precious love.”

“I would give the world
to hear your voice.”

I am speaking
in a tone controlled
yet laced with lust
and melancholy

“I love you dear
but something bad
is happening now
here where I am”

“there’s a chance…”
then I must pause
collect myself
to start again

“There is a chance,
I may not return
to you again,
to our sweet life”

here my voice quavers
and then it cracks
as I try to add,
“…or — to our children.”

grasping for courage
I go on

“if this is
to be my end
it falls to you
to raise them now”

“please let them see
they’re loved forever
protect them well
and keep them safe”

it’s now a struggle
to form the words
but filled with love
I press on

“remember my eggs.
they are safely stored
at the Off•World Corp’s
Reproductive Center.”

“my surrogate
has been selected
she is tested
and bonded pure”

“you must see
our new family born
Zenus and Rennar — born
please promise me!“

choking back
so many emotions
I now fight
to conclude the message

this is the last
I will ever send
to my beloved
Artheo

these are the last words
he’ll hear me speak

“these children,
Zenus and Rennar,
will be the final connection
between you and I”

“remember forever
they are a part
of each of us
my darling one”

“he and she
will care for you
and see you through
your dimming years.”

“they will love you
as you’ll love them
give them my love
tell them about me.”

voice faltering badly
I rise to finish
and share with Artheo
my final words

“god, oh god,
how I want you
here in my arms
my one true love!”

with that,
my heart breaks
as I stare silently
into the screen

teardrops streaming
down my cheeks

12 hours later
the message arrives
on Artheo’s
commstation screen

he is gripped
by disbelief
at what he sees
at what he hears

consumed by horror
unable to move
he stands trembling
frozen by grief

as he sees
my message end
my image flickers
and then it fades

Artheo
falls to his knees
without sound
silent for some time

then
with a growing mix
of fear and sorrow
on his ashen face

he throws back his head
thrusts up his arms
straight and stiff
fists clenched in anger

fists clenched so tight
his nails cut
into his palms
and bring forth blood

with bleeding hands
knuckles whitened,
he keens and moans
then begins to wail

the guttural
soul-wrenching wail
of a man bereft

soul-gored

devastated

• • •

rob kistner © 2008

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collage above entitled: “Face the Future” — by: rob kistner © 2008
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• • •

 

~ by Image&VerseToo on March 18, 2008.