a quasi-sonnet with some astronomical content

Not quite a sonnet, because these are fourteeners, with seven iambs, not
five.

space and time are details
**************************

There is no splendor in the purple sky that can be caught
In picture postcards, coffee table books, or on the Web.
The ardor of the Garnet Star, the cold glare of Deneb,
Are caged in two dimensions, circumscribed in time and thought.

The dead of night, far from the gloaming: Only from that seat
Might one receive the breathing tissue of the endless lights.
--And yet not endless, for the light-years hide the unseen blights
That snuff a furnace, though they fail to check its fleeing heat.

But fires that died today may still enjoy another power:
The embers, buried in the ash, and fanned by winds tomorrow.
And if the spectacle *I* saw lacked rival in its hour,
More lie in waiting, uneclipsed by memory or by sorrow.

The light that touched my callow eyes is not the light you see;
That it should shine for you as well is quite enough for me.

Copyright (c) 2009 Brian Tung

--
Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner moved to http://www.astronomycorner.net/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://www.astronomycorner.net/c5plus/
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My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://www.astronomycorner.net/reference/faq.html

Brian Tung wrote:
Not quite a sonnet, because these are fourteeners, with seven iambs, not
five.

Hi, Brian, and thanks for a great poem. The word "gloaming" can mean
the glow of twilight, and might be applied also, I guess, to the glow
of light pollution, which has been compared to a kind of astronomical
twilight.

With many thanks,

Margo





space and time are details
**************************

There is no splendor in the purple sky that can be caught
In picture postcards, coffee table books, or on the Web.
The ardor of the Garnet Star, the cold glare of Deneb,
Are caged in two dimensions, circumscribed in time and thought.

The dead of night, far from the gloaming: Only from that seat
Might one receive the breathing tissue of the endless lights.
--And yet not endless, for the light-years hide the unseen blights
That snuff a furnace, though they fail to check its fleeing heat.

But fires that died today may still enjoy another power:
The embers, buried in the ash, and fanned by winds tomorrow.
And if the spectacle *I* saw lacked rival in its hour,
More lie in waiting, uneclipsed by memory or by sorrow.

The light that touched my callow eyes is not the light you see;
That it should shine for you as well is quite enough for me.

Copyright (c) 2009 Brian Tung

Margo Schulter wrote:
Hi, Brian, and thanks for a great poem. The word "gloaming" can mean
the glow of twilight, and might be applied also, I guess, to the glow
of light pollution, which has been compared to a kind of astronomical
twilight.

Thanks for the kind words, Margo. I did indeed use "gloaming" to refer
to the light pollution dome over cities.

--
Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner moved to http://www.astronomycorner.net/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://www.astronomycorner.net/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://www.astronomycorner.net/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://www.astronomycorner.net/reference/faq.html

On Apr 3, 8:39*am, (Brian Tung) wrote:

Margo Schulter wrote:

Hi, Brian, and thanks for a great poem. The word "gloaming" can mean
the glow of twilight, and might be applied also, I guess, to the glow
of light pollution, which has been compared to a kind of astronomical
twilight.

Thanks for the kind words, Margo. *I did indeed use "gloaming" to refer
to the light pollution dome over cities.

--

"Roamin' in the gloamin' is an apt description of today's mobile
amateur astronomer seeking darker skies.

The term has Scottish origins. Though I doubt light pollution is a
major issue over large tracts of this often wild country.

I like the subtle way you allude to light being time-delayed by
distance. The impersonality of objects seen from afar as they evolve
through their serial energy sources. Yet retaining their intense
wonder to the sympathetic observer.

Thankyou for trying to raise the cultural tones of s.a.a.

"Tung" means "heavy" in Danish. You are most definitely a forum
"heavyweight". (in all the best senses of the word) :-)

This thread reminded me of a poem I wrote several years ago...

A Winter Night of Watching

In our path lay pristine snow
We journeyed here, our hopes in tow
With telescope and human eye
We set our gaze on starlit sky
The night is magic, the air is crisp
Pleiades dance with will-o-wisp
We watch until we feel no more
Our faces cold, our fingers sore
And as our starry friends recede,
departing slowly by degree,
We pack our things with a wistful sigh
Reluctantly, we say good-bye

Dawn

Dawn wrote:
This thread reminded me of a poem I wrote several years ago...

A Winter Night of Watching

In our path lay pristine snow
We journeyed here, our hopes in tow
With telescope and human eye
We set our gaze on starlit sky
The night is magic, the air is crisp
Pleiades dance with will-o-wisp
We watch until we feel no more
Our faces cold, our fingers sore
And as our starry friends recede,
departing slowly by degree,
We pack our things with a wistful sigh
Reluctantly, we say good-bye

Very nice--I particularly liked "...departing slowly by degree." But
over all too quickly, alas!

--
Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner moved to http://www.astronomycorner.net/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://www.astronomycorner.net/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://www.astronomycorner.net/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://www.astronomycorner.net/reference/faq.html