Claudia Ann Seaman Award
martians
Norah Brady
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston Latin School
Poetry
again I see them: the last of us, clinging to
what breath of humanity they can barter from red dirt
they are dancing
they learned from no one, asked no sacrifices,
begged no lessons, watched the Earth appear
a morning star, no hint of dirt or flesh, no myth or wall
see: their limbs lengthened, they still know gravity and the price it asks of the body
they bury their dead, as if on our last day on Earth we took with us
only what we could fit into a suitcase and then, pausing,
something to remind us of water
this is what they have kept, not fables, not fear:
a rhythm inherent, an urge bone-deep
what we know is a short and futile list,
just ask the martians and what they remember of history
they reply: earth is a speck on our horizon, we are only
ever ourselves, and we do not miss what we were never taught
then look: they sway with each other on the brink of a new
night, an echo stamped into the curve of the universe
EDITORIAL PRAISE
Gently intertwining science fiction with humanness and brimming with language that reminds us of the whole and beautiful earth, “martians” explores what it means to be alive. The rhythmic couplets, set off by lines that move away from the margin, allow us to grasp the whole range of breathing, of feeling. “martians” crafts a world “bone-deep,” a world hinging on “the curve of the universe.”
Norah Brady is a moon enthusiast, haunted house, and mountain poet. They were a runner-up for Youth Poet Laureate of Boston in 2020. Their poetry and short fiction can be found in Blue Marble Review, The Ekphrastic Review, COUNTERCLOCK and Kissing Dynamite.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR