Martian Melody

2022 AbSciCon Creative Science Writing Contest
First Place in Poetry

“Martian Melody” by Lydia Kivrak

Listen closely -

on geologic timescales, you see,

Mars is actually quite noisy.

It’s mostly the wind

holding this planet tightly

singing a constant low undulation

punctuated with the short sharp shrieks

of a week-long

global cacophony of dust.

More subtle is the grit of sand

chafing and smoothing larger rocks

like clenched teeth

grinding down enamel.

The occasional staccato clicks and clacks

of boulders breaking

is quiet

compared to the loudest sound:

the rare explosion of an impact

rumbling far through the ground.

Once, there were other noises:

the rush of gurgling streams

the lap of water on a lakeshore

gentle bubbles of volcanic mud

violent crashes of water breaking

through walls of ice

and, perhaps,

something quieter-

the subtle vibration of molecular bonds

the tiniest zap of a redox reaction

the imperceptible splash of a swimming microbe

maybe even

the occasional squelch

of life.

Some say, if you press your ear to the ground,

you can still hear them-

dancing

in the last hidden pools.

Lately,

for the first time in billennia

new sounds have been resonating

through still cliffs.

Mechanical, metallic movement,

clicks and beeps

wheels crunching rock

an engine humming,

harmonizing with the wind.

The sounds of unpacking a toolkit:

a drill-bit, a laser

a microphone.

And perhaps the wind is singing

joyfully

because after an eternity of song

for the first time,

someone hears.

For the first time, on Mars,

there are ears.