At night, the shadow of sand brings death
to a small robot on another World
She wandered the desolate plain
and peered into ancient craters
Searching for rumors of water and rumors of life

Her digital life was the only life there for fifteen years,
a long time for a mechanical thing
to withstand the cold of solid air
and the thin wind full of dust
Her mother millions of miles gone.

A construct, taught by humans to find an Opportunity
to explore the red dunes and the blue beds of rock
She was programmed to expire
but not to endear herself to us or to communicate
her heart-breaking anguish at mission’s end.