Sarandib Planitia

Pillars of water ice arced over the edge of the world,
Expanding, fragmenting,
Tiny sparks of light joining the frozen oceans of stars above,

The ice shard constellations scattered distant light from beyond the horizon,
Signalling the final sunrise;

Enceladus,

In Greek mythology, Enceladus was one of the Giants, the offspring of Gaia (Earth), and Uranus (Sky).

Here in the outer reaches of the Solar System,
In the orbit of Saturn,
Perfectly equidistant between those of Earth and Uranus,
Where better to watch the birth of a new world?

Earth had long since been evacuated,
Refugees fleeing across the system and finding new landing spots on worlds such as this;
Perhaps it was for the better,
Long and turbulent the Earth’s history had been,
…The mess that was left behind.

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