Poem - Olympus Mons

Boris, Tanya, Oisin, Iðunn and myself

played poker on the edge of Olympus Mons

occasionally distracted

by the robot terraformers

we talked idly of the concept of territory

and the ancient history of earth

we laughed at the idea

of petty kings popes and presidents

pompous in their primeval proclivities

territory, boris said

is the reconstituted aluminium under my ass

none of us had any design on the territory of Boris

territory, Tanya teased

is the fine silver chain

hanging in the border between my breasts

this was a conversation stopper

as we bartered silently

for Tanya bosoms

but gravity reasserted itself

and as equilibrium returned

we glanced sheepishly at the nearby dimension

where Tanya strutted her stuff

territory, Oisin said

was a sacred thing

we fought a 500 year war

for freedom for territory

The British

Remember them

None of us did

He reminded us of a historic classic Alien

Remember no one really liked her did they

She was selfish, vicious, childish, power hungry

Yes we remembered we agreed

Well the British were similar

And just as pretty….

Eventually in 2643

The Irish decided England was more useful as landfill

So they bought the rest of it over

And used it to landscape the old north sea

This was a popular move

By 2800 the British were eradicated

A toast Oisin said

To the Irish patriot Francie Hughes

and the eradication of the British

Slainte nostrovia we chorused

Iðunn said;-

“Territory was an outmoded concept

Even by the 21st century

Technologically the global network

Had rendered the concept of territory obsolete

It just took 100 years for this to sink in

Sometimes the earth mother and father

Were pretty f**kin dumb

Well Drax ..what have you to say..

A royal flush

I said

ironically it has kings and queens and jacks

Imperialist bastards I’m sure

and in this place on the edge of marvellous Mons

this pot in mine

Go raibh maith agat mo chairde*

(Irish for - thank you my friends)

Slainte = cheers in Irish & Nostrovia = cheers in Russian

The central edifice stands 27 kilometres (about 88,600 feet) high above the mean surface level of Mars (about three times the height of Mount Everest above sea level and 2.6 times the height of Mauna Kea above its base). It is 550 km (342 miles) in width, flanked by steep cliffs, and has a caldera that is 85 km (53 miles) long, 60 km (37 miles) wide, and up to 3 km (1.8 miles) deep with six overlapping pit craters. Its outer edge is defined by an escarpment up to 6 km (4 miles) tall; unique among the shield volcanoes of Mars.