Contest Introduction
This poem was submitted to the "We are Not Alone" Poetry Contest on the Poetry Soup website. The contest challenged us to imagine that we were both scientists and poets who had discovered unique life forms on one or more of Pluto's moons. We were then asked to share our discoveries with the world through poetry.
I freely admit that I leaned more toward the scientific side of the challenge than the lifeform-focused side when composing my poem. Although the Tholins might disagree. 😂😏😉
Mysteries of the Frozen Underworld
Pluto is not alone.
It has a close friend.
The River Styx boatman,
On which it can depend.
Charon calls,
The River Styx home.
Pluto or Hades gives,
The moons spaces to roam.
Charon is the big one,
Almost half Pluto in girth,
They rotate together as twins,
Despite a crash closer to birth.
Moon Charon is half rock and half ice,
Shakes more than it stirs.
Geology provides energy,
To the inner world, where life occurs.
Ammonia hydrates.
Methane ice.
Add water to tholins,
Yields a protein spice.
Mordor Macula,
Is Charon’s red polar cap.
Pluto sent its Tholins,
There to take a nap.
Methane has carbon,
A building block of life,
An element of familiarity,
To beings where books are rife.
Four smaller moons,
Of Pluto travel the skies,
Bright reflective faces,
Hide life beneath the disguise.
Rich of carbon,
Dark of organic matter,
Icy pores contain life,
That could die upon shatter.
Nix, the Goddess of Darkness,
Is to Charon, a mother.
Hydra and Kerberos,
Guard the Underworld asunder.
Styx is a moon,
When it isn’t a river of souls.
Connecting worlds of life and death.
Though smallest, it has simple goals.
Even amongst stewards of the Underworld,
New life can emerge.
Pluto moons are similar,
While having shapes and paths that diverge.
These moons are most like Triton,
One of Neptune’s moons,
From the same icy Kuiper belt,
Potential life hidden within its planetary cocoon.
Triton is one of the six,
Universe moons where life could thrive.
Considering tardigrades exist,
Environments exist where all sorts of things could survive.
We really don’t know what’s out there,
But we know we exist,
So we believe in life’s possibility,
Arm extended while holding a fist.
Poet's Notes:
Pluto Is Not Alone
The decision to begin my poem with "Pluto is not alone" was intentional. It was a direct acknowledgment of the Poetry Soup contest's title, "We Are Not Alone."
Pluto and all five of its moons have names associated with mythological figures or features of the Underworld. I wanted to incorporate those mythological connections into my poem rather than focus exclusively on planetary science.
Charon is named after the ferryman of the River Styx, who transports the souls of the dead into the Underworld. Styx is the mythological river separating the world of the living from the realm of the dead. Pluto is also known as Hades, the ruler of the Underworld.
The other moon names have their own mythological connections. Nix is named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of night and the mother of Charon in mythology.
Hydra is named after the many-headed serpent from Greek mythology, while Kerberos is named after Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the Underworld.
I wanted to give the mythological connections some attention throughout the poem, including a little extra recognition of Styx, the smallest of Pluto's five moons.
Pluto and Charon: A Cosmic Pair
The reference to Pluto and Charon rotating together as twins relates to their unusual relationship. Charon is almost half Pluto's diameter, making it unusually large in comparison to its parent dwarf planet. They orbit a shared center of mass located between them and are tidally locked, meaning they continually present the same faces toward one another.
Scientists believe that Pluto and Charon formed following a major collision early in the history of the solar system. This is the inspiration behind my reference to a crash closer to their birth.
Shaken, Not Stirred: A Little Geological Humor
The lines:
"Moon Charon is half rock and half ice,
Shakes more than it stirs."
Honestly, these lines brought alcohol in a glass with ice to mind. I started thinking about how people order their drinks: on the rocks (served over ice), neat (served without ice or mixers), up or straight up (chilled with ice, strained, and served without the ice), double (twice the usual amount), top shelf/premium, dirty, dry, and with a chaser.
The second line was also a nod to how 007, James Bond, orders his drinks: "Shaken, not stirred."
I thought it was a clever and playful way to introduce geology into the poem. I mean, what better way to shake things up than with a little planetary geology? LOL!
Geological Activity and the Possibility of Life
"Geology provides energy,
To the inner world, where life occurs."
I read about geological features and evidence of past geological activity on Charon. That led me to think about how geological processes on Earth can provide energy and nutrients that support life in extreme environments.
Since the surfaces of distant icy worlds are REALLY cold, I became interested in the possibility that conditions beneath their surfaces might be more hospitable to life. Scientists have considered whether Charon could have had a subsurface ocean in its past, but the existence of life there has not been established.
I took that scientific possibility and ran with it poetically!
Chemistry, Tholins, and a Little Protein Spice
These lines refer to substances identified or investigated in connection with Charon's surface composition. I wanted to incorporate some of the chemistry into my poem rather than simply describe the moons as icy objects floating through space. Ammonia hydrate lowers the freezing point of water, so it is a major component to icy crusts and subsurface oceans in celestial bodies.
The next lines:
This was one of my favorite scientific connections to incorporate. I read about laboratory experiments in which tholins exposed to liquid water produced amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, so I thought of them as the LEGOs of protein construction.
I took a little poetic license and called them "protein spice." It seemed like an amusing way to describe adding another ingredient to the chemical recipe for life. That was my logic pyramid, anyway!
Mordor Macula and the Traveling Tholins
There really is a place called Mordor Macula on Charon! (It's not like the Beetlejuice house or the hotel in The Shining...it's all one place and it's REAL!) It is the name given to the distinctive reddish region around its north pole. (Red North Pole...how festive.)
Scientists believe that methane originating from Pluto's atmosphere travels to Charon and becomes trapped in its extremely cold polar region. Chemical reactions involving that material, including reactions driven by radiation, are thought to contribute to the reddish deposits.
I decided to personify the Tholins as little space explorers traveling from Pluto to Charon, where they could settle down for a nap. Capitalizing Tholins was intentional, too. I wanted them to sound almost like a group of little inhabitants of the Frozen Underworld. 😂
Four Smaller Moons and Hidden Possibilities
Pluto has four smaller moons in addition to Charon: Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx.
New Horizons observations showed that these moons have bright, reflective surfaces, with water ice being an important part of their composition. I also encountered discussions of organic materials and the possibility of interesting chemistry on icy worlds.
I became creative with the idea of hidden life. I imagined a moon wearing foundation to cover up whatever mysteries might be underneath. Sometimes, even a little planetary makeup can conceal a lot! LOL!
"Icy pores contain life,
That could die upon shatter."
I was reading about icy environments and the possibility that spaces within ice could contain liquid water or other conditions that might support microscopic life. I also came across information about several icy moons in our solar system that are considered interesting candidates for further investigation because of their potential subsurface oceans.
I used those ideas as inspiration for the imagery in this stanza. However, the possibility of life in icy pores is speculative, not an established discovery on Pluto's smaller moons.
Styx Gets Its Own Stanza
I wanted to give Styx its own stanza rather than have it get lost among the other moons. It is the smallest of Pluto's five moons, but its name has a particularly strong mythological connection.
The River Styx is one of the most recognizable features of Greek Underworld mythology. I liked the opportunity to play with the idea of Styx being both a real moon and a mythological river connecting the worlds of the living and the dead.
I also believe I might be biased toward giving water a poetic display, since my bachelor's engineering degree specialized in water resources. I also have a famous boat captain on one side of the family and a waterwheel builder on the other. I was raised around a bunch of plumbers, and I have had seasonal or temporary water jobs throughout my life, so the water theme has been prevalent.
From Pluto to Triton
I also wanted to explore how Pluto's moons compare to other icy worlds in our solar system. That led me to Neptune's moon Triton.
Triton has several interesting similarities to Pluto. It is believed to be a captured Kuiper Belt Object, and its icy composition and geological features made it an interesting subject when considering the possibility of subsurface environments.
I had read about six moons in our solar system that scientists consider particularly interesting in discussions about potential environments for life. I then started looking into how Triton compared with Pluto's moons. The comparison seemed like a natural addition to my poem.
Tardigrades and Extreme Environments
Tardigrades are amazing little extremophiles that I often think about when considering the possibility of life in space.
These microscopic animals are famous for their ability to survive certain extreme environmental conditions by entering a dormant state. Their resilience makes them fascinating examples when discussing the limits of life as we know it.
Of course, that doesn't mean tardigrades could simply move to an icy moon and survive. They still need suitable conditions to live and reproduce. Nevertheless, I thought they deserved a cameo in my poem!
The Power Stanza: Go Aliens!
The final stanza is my "power" stanza.
I start with an acknowledgment of uncertainty because that's my style. We really don't know what might exist beyond our own world, but we do know that we exist.
The third line expresses optimism about the possibility of life elsewhere. The final image of an extended arm holding a fist represents reaching toward the unknown with determination. (It also brought the ending scene from The Breakfast Club to mind.)
In other words, I'm saying, "Go Aliens!" 👽
(Provided...they aren't the crazy aliens portrayed in the anime Dan Da Dan...LOL!)
A Little Reflection on the Writing Process
I had a lot of fun writing the poem. At first, the challenge was a little overwhelming because I didn't know much about Pluto's moons. I also wasn't sure exactly how to approach the subject.
I wanted to incorporate the mythological origins of the Underworld characters associated with the moons' names. At the same time, I enjoy basing my poems on facts, even when scientific knowledge about distant worlds is incomplete and some of the possibilities remain speculative.
I also have a tendency to get a little too scientific or wordy with my Nerdspeak. I had to keep myself in check through repeated revisions! I REALLY had to LOVE my longer lines to justify keeping them in the finalized poem. And I do!
Sometimes, the challenge isn't finding enough information to write about. It's figuring out how much of that information to squeeze into a poem without turning it into a science textbook. LOL!
Postscript: AI Image Generation
I had a lot of fun dreaming up and generating the images that accompany this poem. Some of the ideas were quite elaborate, from Tholins traveling between Pluto and Charon to Pluto's smaller moons having a planetary makeup party and a tardigrade embarking on an Indiana Jones-inspired adventure.
I especially enjoyed seeing how specific descriptions, imaginative details, and even unexpected AI-generated mistakes could contribute to the final results. When you can communicate a vision clearly enough, you give AI, another person, or a team of people the opportunity to help bring that vision to life.
I saved the detailed image-generation instructions separately for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes creative process.
