Voodoo Hypothesis by Canisia Lubrin

Canisia Lubrin’s Voodoo Hypothesis is a collection that takes from the histories of colonization, science, and spirituality to provide a book of lessons for the human race. This is clear in poems like the self-titled “Voodoo Hypothesis,” a multi-page projection of the fate of Mars onto the Earth. The first stanza references Curiosity which is the robot camera that walks on Mars and takes millions of pictures at a time. It also brings forth the idea that this action, the camera being placed on Mars, is there in an effort to search for something greater like God, but instead humans use the technology to become God. As a result of Curiosity’s invasion on this planet, which was meant to discover wonders, it begins to destroy the Martian rock:

Before sight, we imagine

that while they go out in search 

of God

we stay in and become God,

become: Curiosity,

whose soul is a nuclear batter (1)

The theme of invasion weaves throughout the piece as Lubrin continues to mix science and destruction with the possible future she predicts for the planet. “…Curiosity and her clues to calm our fears for what’s coming” (1). While passing through the second and third stanzas, the allusion continues of humanity relying on this machine to unearth any secrets of Mars; its disruption may cause something that we otherwise would be unprepared for. Because of scientific inventions like Curiosity, humans are able to predict a catastrophe, like Mars falling, and for now the robot serves as a cushion of comfort. The poem continues with a number of warning signs that something may be amiss with the planet, signs that usually are otherwise seen as an Earth-only issue—environmental issues: “Mars and her epic storms, her gargantuan volcanos have long ceased their trembling…Earth problem, not Mars problem” (1). 

To further solidify the underlying lesson within “Voodoo Hypothesis”, the poem can’t help but compare the Earth to Mars; in regards to how humanity has impacted either. Lubrin gets to the bare bones of her thoughts when she delivers the following line; “Oxygen wasn’t the only disaster to befall the Earth to bless her with life…and now the same fate may befall Mars,” hinting that humans may at first have been blessings but as time continued, humanity began to become a burden (2). Lubrin is challenging the human race to look upon the past relationship of  the Earth and its inhabitants, which hold a long list of consequences on Earth’s end for continuing to sustain the lives that depend on it. Now Lubrin is asking if this same fate would befall on Mars and if the beginning of this is by the planting of Curiosity:

…Set sail for home,

because we will all wear the consequences of this choice.

And you never should have said

goodbye. (3)

The poem concludes with a reply from Curiosity, allowing all to know it is safe and enjoying its time on Mars and all it has to offer. However, at the end of this short note is another warning, that this choice of invading another planet may not end so well. Whether for the planet or humanity, no one knows. This poem is a small sample of Lubrin’s ability to combine many things that make up the identity of humanity like; science, astronomy, history, spirituality, and environmental activism, and condense it into a very clear moral lesson. I admire how she lightly grazes the surface of a multitude of issues while never losing the heart of what her poem is about.