All the miscellaneous minutiae


mandated by law and circumstance:


dosimeters, depressurization protocols,


equipment manuals, mineral assays,


cargo manifests, import/export tariffs,


texts on recycling, hydroponics,


agroecology, autonomous mining.


Commonplace. Practical. Dull.


And, in addition, assorted information


on moles and meerkats—


their diet, habits, inclinations,


care, breeding, lineages,


profiles of popular individuals


with every exploit exaggerated,


plus volume after volume


of fanciful fossorial fiction—


as if it were not enough


that Martians dwell underground


but that they must elevate this act


to art, to a matter of principle,


praising the burrowing beasts


they ferried with them at such cost,


spending every spare scrap of scrip


on earthworms, beetles, soil


to please their small compatriots.