I’m stranded here on Io now
There’s no way back, my time is short
Earth’s just a pinprick in the sky
All hopes are gone, no last resort

I climb an amber crag and gaze
down at the boiling plain below
I swallow hard, it’s time to jump
I’ll say goodbye and end this woe

Then something taps upon my back
An alien form, I spin and stare
Three yellow eyes smile back at me
A sulphur queen with crystal hair

With crusty tentacles outstretched
She leads me to a steaming vent
A citron city gleams inside
A maze of domes of vast extent

A breeze of air, my visor off
Come sulphur snacks with pungent smell
The taste is good, the water sweet
A heaven smuggled inside hell


© Oliver Wright

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