Three Sci-Fi Poems from Joshua Tree

I am now settled at Hill House, the winter home in the Mohave desert that I wrote about last month (What The Desert Teaches).

The Mohave brings out the sci-fi nerd in me. The lunar landscape, the desert folk, the mysterious military bases, the open space, and the astonishing night sky give to all my dreams a sci-fi twist.

I am not alone.

Joshua Tree is the only town I know that can support a book store specializing in science-fiction. Space Cowboy Books, a small, independent bookseller on Joshua Tree’s main strip, is the area’s literary center (Space Cowboy Books).

The last time I chatted with the owner—sci-fi author and editor Jean-Paul L. Garnier—I couldn’t stop picking his brain. I left with seven books.

Space Cowboy Books. Joshua Tree, CA

Sci-fi was my first literary love, and first loves always have a special place in our hearts. I learned to read fiction by reading Frank Herbert’s Dune, Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End, Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, and Walter Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz. And sci-fi taught me the world-making powers of the imagination.

I have not tried my hand at writing science fiction, but I have, however, an unpublished manuscript of science fiction poetry for kids, and in honor of my winter move into this alien landscape, I thought I would share with you three short examples.

I hope you like them.

Split Personality

My robot says to use my brain.

“A headless heart is half-insane.”

My alien says to have a heart.

“A heartless head cannot be smart.”

My robot spits; my alien cries.

And I just want to run and hide.

I don’t know what I should do

when I’m caught between the two.

Trust Your Nose

I found a cave on Nimbus 9

inside a jungle green.

I thought I’d poke my head inside

and see what could be seen.

But then I got a sudden whiff

of old and dirty toes,

and I recalled what Mama said,

“A boy should trust his nose.”

Robert Louis Falls Asleep

At night I lie in bed awake

and look up at the stars.

I wonder if there really are

those Martians up on Mars.

And do they have antennas too?

And can they walk on walls?

And do they fly like bumble bees,

or bounce like rubber balls?

I wonder till my eyelids close,

and soon I fall asleep.

And then I dream the Martians come,

and I am their’s to keep.

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