Red Pulseless Planet Never Yearned

The eyes drift back to Mars.
Everything important
Here (go ahead, tell us

What’s important to you,
What draws your attention
Whenever the day ends)

On Earth has been nothing
Of consequence on Mars.
That’s what’s so beautiful.

Aside from the color,
Never mind the closeness,
Relatively speaking,

Or whether it had life
Once, and water, and then
Life itself up and died,

All of the excuses
People make for seeking
To know more about Mars—

The wonder of the place
Is just that none of this
Matters there, none of us.