Wednesday 22 May 2013

Science Friction


We remember them,
Square-jawed white men named
Captain Gordon, or
Ensign Green,

Sailing their starships across
The star-studded gulfs of space.
Travelling to distant fantastic planets
Frontiers for colonists to conquer
Worlds to tame and civilise.

Those heroic starfarers
Do you remember them?

Epitome of Good
Battling evil aliens
(Who were only defending their homes and hearths
From marauding Terran monsters
But that wasn’t what you thought about then)
And saving beautiful humanoid princesses
From durance vile.

Proving, to everyone’s entire satisfaction
That humanity deserves to rule the Universe
And keep lesser species in their place.

Where are those square-jawed heroes now?
Wiped away by the changing seasons
With a little enlightenment
About what ought to be wrong and right
(Not to mention that evil alien monsters
Are now blue cat people
In touch with the spirits of nature)

And their far ranging travels
Across the universe, their Galactic Federations
Pulled awry by
The curve of spacetime
And hobbled by
The speed of light.


 Copyright B Purkayastha 2013

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