To Io, moon of Jupiter
Two years cramped in a new tin can
I volunteered to come so far
The pardoned convict that I am

Locked now in Io's orbit and
approaching that sulphurous globe
Its pockmarked crust looms up as I
engage the engines of my probe

Soft thud! Success! I'm here at last!
The folks back home must be impressed
My spacesuit on, I step right out
To start on my volcanic quest

I boldly stride across the plain
Towards a saffron lava flow
My camera records it all
When suddenly the sky's aglow

Where once my spaceship proudly stood
a jet of molten sulphur spurts
So this is how it ends for me
Marooned on Io! Just deserts!


© Oliver Wright

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