Pilgrim Stars

So many have left Earth behind,

On planet where they trod.

Now starships fill the silent skies,

As pilgrims search for God.

...

To Neptune, many pilgrims fly,

Seeking the divine.

Sporadic contact made with home,

Mostly with laser-lines.

...

There's whispers of transcendence.

That here, portal to Hell.

But if there realm of fire, fury,

Surely realm of God as well?

...

The pilgrims fire grav-drives,

Upon a whisper and a prayer.

But in their hubris pay the price,

Fire, pain, despair.

...

Heaven is the darkness.

Heaven is the stars.

Heaven is a barren place,

Home of worlds like Earth and Mars.

...

Hell, a realm that lies beyond,

Hell, beyond starlight.

Hell, a seething realm of fire,

Uncaring of Man's plight.

...

In a flash, the ships return,

In darkness, hanging still.

You cannot break the light-barrier,

Perhaps that is God's will.

...

Mankind's doomed to stay at Sol,

For all eternity.

Straddled to a dying world,

In perpetuity.

...

But perhaps the slow death's better,

Than that place of cleavers, bars.

Better to skirt in the light,

That fills the dark between the stars.

...

But even now, ships still head out,

Ignore what it portends,

That to break the laws of universe,

Is to invite your flesh to rend.

...

Faith, belief, is like a poison,

It cannot be expelled.

Even if paths lead to fire,

Even if ships head to Hell.