Colonist

When I volunteered,
little did I realize
how much I would lose,
that my womb would grow sterile,
that my heart would grow lonely.

Adventure called me,
my footprint in rust-red soil,
a new way of life
away from the blue and white
of my mothering planet.

But now I wander
further from the colony…
I cannot find home
upon Mars, within myself,
or among the silent stars.

©Ardelle Hollis Ray