new postcard home from confusenik Martian.

Another aspect of their culture seen today:
they have the same small flat and shiny stone
communicators - about the size of Earthling hands -
that we employ for summoning our space craft
or de-materialising for a journey in near space.
They take them everywhere, but seem to have
no space craft of their own - for I've seen none.
And furthermore, the Earthlings, it appears, are made of
anti-de-materialising stuff. I've not seen one go down
the way we do. Instead, these Earthlings open up their stones
like wallets and then stab them with their fingers
as if they mean to hurt. The stones then spring to life
and music comes or faces of the Earthlings' friends, and then
we find they've voices trapped inside. Or squiggles wiggle
all across the stone - but still the stone just sits there
like it's dumb. They oooooh and ahhhhh, these Earthlings do
to see the lines and shapes, the signs and symbols on their stones,
but still no space ship comes. Technology frustrates them all
the time. They just can't handle it. I saw one Earthling rise
in anger at his stone and slam the damned thing shut -
his words, not mine. Sometimes their holy stones - for such
they are, they worship them! - run out of zergon, or whatever
powers the things. They put them then on charge.
Sometimes that takes all night. or so it seems to me.
But still the space ship doesn't come incredibly!
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A dVerse Poets prompt inspired by Craig Raine's famous poem - but you really should follow my link and read the prompt there.