[The metallic “M-class” asteroid 16 Psyche is the target of NASA’s next mission to the belt of giant rocks that encircles the inner solar system. The main aim of the journey is to gather more information about our own solar system. Psyche is one of many wandering members of the asteroid belt. Unlike the rest of its rocky neighbours, Psyche appears to be entirely made of nickel and iron, just like the Earth’s core. This, together with its size, has led to the theory that it might be the remains of the inside of a planet. —- The Conversation, Dec. 1, 2017]

Bride of Eros, your beauty,
cratered and pockmarked by eons of impacts,
has left only your unyielding core.

As you circle in darkness
between that highest of gods
and his warmongering brother

you will be probed by a new admirer.
Not your handsome, eternally youthful spouse
but an offspring of science and technology.

Will our curiosity again invoke
your mother-in-law’s jealousy
as she orbits the Sun?

As you are fondled by this new suitor
will you share your secret soul —
eternally faithful wife?
or just some long-lost planet’s leftovers?

[Marianne Gambaro’s poems have been published in several print and online journals including The Aurorean, Oberon Poetry Magazine, Pirene’s Fountain, Avocet Journal, Snowy Egret and The Naugatuck River Review. Her chapbook, Do NOT Stop for Hitchhikers, was published by Finishing Line Press. She resides in verdant Western Massachusetts, with her talented photographer-husband and three feline muses. https://margampoetry.wordpress.com/]