Phobos Fears the Dread
Deimos
Knows
Janet Kuypers
4/16/24 (derived from the poem “Phobos Fears his Future”)
One small little creature, wandering, lost, was caught by
the Roman red giant Mars, also known as Ares, the Greek
god of war. The only way this delicate creature could survive
Mars is to also be the son of Aphrodite, Venus, but trust me,
Mars would force poor Phobos to only personify fear.
What choice did he have, too light for gravity to give
him shape, now porous, heavily cratered & drowning
in a meter of dust from meteor bombardments... So,
Phobos’ only choice was to spin so close to Mars’ equator —
in a perfect circle — closer than any other known orbit,
circling Mars every seven hours and thirty-nine minutes.
Though Phobos and Deimos were twins who led Ares
into battle, Deimos represented dread and terror that befell
those before a battle, and Phobos personified fear and panic
in the midst of battle... In the celestial realm, the smaller
Deimos knew the terror from Phobos’ fear before it became
the smaller moon’s turn. Phobos may know that Ares, I mean,
Mars, may do him in when that orbit pulls him in, as this
poor trapped moon refuses to shine,* with their sunlit side
rivaling a pleasant Chicago winter day, and only a few
kilometers away, on the dark side, it’s harsher than an
Antarctica night. Of course, this little gem fears its fate,
knows it’s doomed, spinning so close to his future destroyer,
while little Deimos knows the terror of being forced to watch
Phobos’ fate before this orbital death befalls Deimos too.
Phobos fears his future, but of course, Ares, I mean, Mars,
coming from war, knows that this is just the way things go.
It doesn’t matter if their mother is Aphrodite, I mean, Venus.
Mars never knew love — and after Mars pulled his boys in,
they’re trapped with their fate sealed, and no way to break free.
* Phobos is one of the least reflective bodies in the Solar System
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