It’s been a tough time, it still is, and there is no light yet at the end of the tunnel. It happens, and we can only play with the hand that was dealt to us.
And yet…

Mars is in opposition – it’s close to Earth, and facing the sun.
It’s burning bright red in the night sky, to remind us why it was associated with war and violence.
And tonight Mars is at its brightest.

I was in the courtyard, a while ago.
The sky is cloudy, over Astigianistan, and there’s a cold wind.
Nobody walks the streets of the village where I live, the cats are huddled somewhere and there’s a dog barking, desperately, in the distance.
But still, through the breaks in the clouds that chase each other over our heads, I saw Mars.

And you might ask…
Did I hold my arms up, like heeding a distant call, and felt like I was being swept by a strong wind and transported across the vast of night, to ancient Barsoom, just as John Carter and Ulysses Paxton before me?

Yes I did.
But it was just a moment.
If the going is tough, it is also true I’ll have to face the music here where I stand.

And yet, wouldn’t it have been good?