Forgotten Ground Regained
The Mages of Mars
The mages of Mars are mean as time,And time’s a tyrant on trillions of worlds.They speak their spells in a spastic tongueThat holds the hearer a hostage for years. Inducing death, these dreaded fewAre Mars-maulers who make a graveOf the polar plains and planetscape.Twice-born are twisted by a twilight oathTo bind them blindly, a bloodless riteNo son of Saturn or sorcerer of Earth Would dare endure, so dire the risksOf losing a life with lust for the next.
Copyright © Steven Withrow, 2023
First published in Forgotten Ground Regained: A Journal of Alliterative Verse, New Series, Issue 1, Winter, 2024
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