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‘New Horizons’ by Martin Haddelsey
Pluto,
Down in the underworld,
Perhaps wished to be forgotten,
And would not have been found at all
If Lowell had failed to spot
Neptune’s strange deviations in orbit.
But the dwarf world
Tugged playfully at its big brother
As he swam past,
As if it wanted attention.
Now,
Via Tombaugh,
All – too much –
Is known.
Mountains,
Poised on a bedrock of
Water ice.
Frozen methane and
Carbon-monoxide.
The smooth
White planum,
Dark-streaked and
Untroubled by craters.
The wise say we must
Expand our horizons.
So why do I feel cheated?
Because Pluto,
Already downgraded,
Has now been ‘discovered’ –
This dark pit
On the edge of our system
Profaned by cameras.
And now I know,
Beyond dispute,
That the Clangers don’t live there.
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