Heart Like Switchgrass

They talk about the kind of mind you need
They talk about what kind of body
They never talk about the heart you need
You were never mine

They call Mars a god of war
A male god. It was never true
Mars is a mother, gathering daughters
You were never mine

Learning to walk, you clung to the window
Toys lay untouched, you reached for the sky
A red shadow passed as I weeded the garden
She waited, tiny, inevitable, red

The first manned crew would be all-female
Smaller bodies, higher pain tolerance
Thinner retinas to cope in zero-g
Able to withstand prolonged isolation
You were never mine

It was never going to be easy
You were never going to be mine
She was coming with her long red arms
The clock was ticking down the days
She was marking time

You trained 12 meters underwater
Whirled, strapped in the three-axis gimbal
I sat at my kick wheel, coaxed clay into pots
Vessel after vessel, none of which could contain you
You were never mine

Finally, liftoff day is here
She stares unblinking, insatiable, red
I’ve made a tiny you of clay
Heartspace hollowed, a vessel I’ve filled
Not with violets, rosebuds or baby's breath

But with knots of switchgrass: sinewy, fierce
Tenacious, relentless, unstoppable
You were never mine

Feel nothing, not-my-girl, for this blue Earth
Feel nothing, regret nothing, we have ignition
Don't doubt, don't ache, don't soften, don't wonder
Take flight, let nothing make you weak
On Earth they say hard times create strong women
I fire the kiln, I search the sky
Red soil aches, awaiting your first steps
You were never mine