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An SF poem from my 2019 collection, The Ambassador Takes One For The Team, $9 from me, or $2 for the ebook.



Suicides Leave Notes



AI says this planet once had life
geomorphic features too regular by far
roads, terraces, foundations or what-have-you
they built and mined and then they left
a colony world, perhaps
but molecules peculiar to manufacture
are everywhere
in strata as old as half a million years
as young as in surficial sand and mud
we just missed them
we just missed them and yet
no living thing is here
microorganisms, hardy plants, things like viruses
no, none, zilch
and hardly any water

whatever laid its hand upon this world
is gone, we hope
but just in case
we can’t go home
or even warn them
except by placing in orbit a beacon:

“stay away!”