Poetry 365 Challenge: A Poem A Day - 2015

7th Mar: Planet Eden

Date: Saturday 7th March 2015
Style: Rhyming Couplets
Title: Planet Eden

Planet Eden
Many light years from Earth
Many centuries from now
Circling a star much like our own

It called to us from across the stars
Reaching out from the Goldilocks zone
So we came and planted our flag
Another planet to call home

It took many years to get there
Even at half the speed of light
And despite the many candidates
We aimed with hope into the night

The mother planet was still dying
But holding on as it always had
It remained sullied, unpleasant
Oh! To get away, we were glad!

So, we analysed our new planet
It's orbit was circular, on a flat plane
It's axis had no tilt like the Earth
So, it's seasons were always the same

At the equator it was always summer
Nearer the poles were snow and ice
Regional temperatures rarely varied
So, we could set up somewhere nice

Native lichens and algae lived there
Harmless lifeforms like those on Earth
They'd changed Eden's atmosphere
We valued their eons work, its worth

For you see the air was just like home
Mostly inert gas and some oxygen
It was all just too perfect a find
Soil, was great, good levels of nitrogen

Radius and mass almost the same
The gravity not noticeably differing
It was clear we'd hit the jackpot
We could shape a world... no suffering

It even had a moon like ours
Although it's dunes were yellow
It had beautiful craters and valleys
A serene view so mellow

No terraforming required
We wouldn't have to change a thing
No living underground for us
A strong magnetic field made us sing

It turned on its axis every 30 hours
We kept contract hours the same
That's an extra 6 hours of free time
Time for rest, sun, or to play a game

We set down our colony ships
We'd selected a temperate region
A country we called 'Always Spring'
And yes, we called the planet 'Eden'

We planted from our seed library
Spread wide all over the planet
Life took hold and blossomed
Pine quickly took hold in the granite

We'd brought bio domes with us
Cracked them wide open like eggs
Watched plants and animals spread out
We celebrated with brandy wine kegs

Summer was 30 degrees Celsius
As low as 20 degrees Celsius in winter
Imagine that, mild and sunny all year
Occasional rain for the land so tender

Over the decades it became paradise
A throng of forests and flowers
Warm breeze and time for sunsets
Running and laughing in flash showers

I wish they could be here
Those poor souls on Earth
I just hope they survive
And realise their worth