Wax Mag #10 - "There Is No Life on Mars," Poem by Bertony Louis

Wax Mag #10 –

"There Is No Life on Mars," Poem by Bertony Louis

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May 15th, 2026

Wax Poetry and Art Magazine #10

Socially Engaged Poetry Contest #15 – First Place

There Is No Life on Mars

by Bertony Louis

I have no use for your rockets,
varnished with false curiosities of mass destruction,
whose smoke pollutes 
every gesture of love under a sky in ruins.
A long journey to this place offering 
no view of any landscape,
where there is no life, no human to cherish,
no children’s morning to bless with a piece of bread.

No one
has yet shed tears on Mars,
nor had their dream of smiling wounded by bullets.
No city, no neighborhood is at risk 
of bombing,
while here a smile marks its absence 
on the lips of people diagnosed with pain,
a sign that kindness is rejected with a wave of the hand.
In vain, outstretched hearts will wait;
in vain, the poem will sow hope
until the evening of a day long in coming back.

It is here that there are flames burning bodies,
flames to be extinguished by the fire of love.
A firewall for spirits vulnerable to hatred,
souls to be unlocked urgently.
It is in this corner of the Earth that no child yawns,
not because they are laughing from their guts,
but for fear that a missile will end 
its mad course in their mouths.

Life is not elsewhere; but it is here,
where a bird's dance is missing from the fields,
like some names in the book of the living.
On Mars, breath is written by the hands of doubt,
while here, we know for certain
that love and peace are needed in this imperfect present 
to restore meaning to existence on Earth.

About the Poet
Bertony Louis resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications
on Bertony Louis's Artist Page.

Keywords: war, peace, love

Next in Wax Mag #10:
Apathy
Poem by Emma Robinson

Back to Wax Mag #10

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