NASA’s ‘cosmic border guard’ John Rummel,
says Earth’s brink is as frail as a Hummel
figure, so heightened vigilance is a must
as we measure the returns of Stardust
containing comet soot. With each space probe
there’s the supposed danger of a microbe
transfer. NASA’s airtight chamber to foil
just such an exchange from the Martian soil
will take ten years to build. Why a leaner,
interplanetary vacuum cleaner
to catch some extraterrestrial cootie
we’re not sure exists? What of the booty
to be found with Rummel’s high-tech hoovers
on Earth in more humanitarian maneuvers?