My love has gone to Jupiter
I’ll rent a ship and see her soon
Europa, Io, Ganymede
Callisto or a smaller moon

My first stop’s Io, let’s look here
Volcanos sprout on plains red hot
I scour the sulphurous hills for life
but telltale footprints there are not

Europa is my second stop
Cool down among the frosty streaks
Then plodding on the dirty ice
I call and call, but no one speaks

So on to Ganymede with haste
The largest moon, pale brown and grey
Which chilly crater is she in?
It seems she didn’t come this way

Callisto’s speckles beckon now
I land inside a frozen crease
At last, her ship’s in sight, I knock!
“What you?” she says, “Leave me in peace!”


© Oliver Wright

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