Monday, October 21, 2013

NightSky*Stars

This is one of the older poems I wrote a long time ago. It is also one of my favourites.



image from WikiPaintings



NightSky*Stars




     What myriad secrets you hold up there
     we can only boldly guess.
     Your mysteries, time locked
     & unwilling yet to share.

What light i saw
could have been born a billion years before

You are ancient legends, retold over glowing fires,
domains of the gods, we are told.
In time, as we grew wiser,
we dared, we probed your dark canvas.

Your depth, i could not fathom
the immense distance you span.
If i could live a million reincarnations,
i guess i could not traverse you from end to end.

Tonight, on such a cold night,
in a miniscule niche on a blue planet,
as i lift my eyes to the vastness above,
the stars, they speak to me in lights of life.

     from worlds so distant
     from voices so ancient

ashes to earth to life to earth to ashes
trilobites in shale, archaeopteryx in stone
Beatles on wax, memories in silicon brains
man chasing gold chasing dreams chasing fame

now what light i saw
could have been me a billion years before.



*** written DEC 1987 ***
* slightly revised 12/10/2013 *






“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson



Shared on Poetry Pantry #172 at Poets United.





© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2013

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15 Comments:

Blogger Brian Miller said...

nice....love the close on this...that the light could have been you a billion years ago...the large and the small of this too...our speck in the vastness...and the awe of the greatness

21 October, 2013 00:18  
Blogger Sherry Blue Sky said...

Lee San, this is a spectacular poem of moon and mystery. I especially love

You are ancient legends,
retold over glowing fires,
domains of the gods,

and the image of you looking up from "a miniscule niche on a blue planet."

21 October, 2013 01:03  
Blogger Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

I can see why this is one of your favorites! There is a wonderful feel to this piece--and it makes me feel small and in awe--

21 October, 2013 02:22  
Blogger Natašek said...

this is really a great poem, I can see why it's one of your favourites... i love the thoughts in it and the images. beautiful, also the image at the start.

21 October, 2013 02:50  
Blogger ruth said...

well written, vast... i especially like the cyclicity implicit in the penultimate stanza & then the near repetition (with one important, insightful difference) of the second stanza in the last:

what light i saw
could have been me a billion years before.


looking at the stars i see myself...

21 October, 2013 02:51  
Blogger Lisa A. Williams said...

Marvelous! To stand beneath the stars and think of all who did the same before us, what stories could be told.

21 October, 2013 04:10  
Blogger gautami tripathy said...

You took me back into a forgotten place.....

Such a pleasure to read this! And glad to be back!!

balance it out

21 October, 2013 23:11  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

Brian,

my favourite lines too. :)


Sherry,

i like "spectacular"!
i wrote this at a time when i was thinking about the cosmos. looks like i still haven't got the answers. :)


Audrey,

yes, we do feel small. :)


Natasa,

thank you!


rudyan,

thank you! the furthest stars are in billion of light years away.


Lisa,

yes, i do agree with your comment. :)

21 October, 2013 23:55  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

Hi gautami!

so good to hear from you!

22 October, 2013 00:15  
Blogger Stormcat Poetry said...

I really enjoyed reading this. I to have always been fascinated by the nature of the eternal. I don't think I have a favorite line. I just liked the overall effect.

22 October, 2013 01:19  
Anonymous dsnake1 said...

hey Stormcat, glad to see you again! thanks for your comment. :)

23 October, 2013 00:01  
Blogger ZQ said...

trilobites...Whoa, that's old! Hang on I'm lookin' up another one; archaeopteryx...Whoa, I can't "fly" any further than that. :-) I got the wax and sillicone :-0
A well written piece. Cool "being"
ZQ

25 October, 2013 10:13  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

hehheh! we're old. but you need not keep reminding it... :P

25 October, 2013 22:39  
Blogger magiceye said...

Fascinating mystery

02 November, 2013 13:18  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

thank you! great to hear from you, my friend. :)

02 November, 2013 19:32  

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