Sonnet XXXI
Oddly Off-Kilter NGC 2442
Sonnet XXXI
Even a galaxy may be off kilter ―
not shaped like a pristine bilateral
spiral. Light streaks outward through a filter,
it seems, when snatched by a collateral
body. Free-floating hydrogen was drawn
into tangible streamer vanes of gas;
dust yanked like taffy, with endless brawn,
from the main arm. Clusters of stars surpass
a single bright light in beauty, but can’t
match up to a more exquisite rival,
like Andromeda or Whirlpool; the scant
are ripped by those larger and more frightful.
Cosmic layouts shaped like feathers and tails:
mind-numbing forces, energies and scales.
************************
This comes from “The delicate aftermath of cosmic violence” , on @badastronomer’s Discover Magazine blog.
Posted on Poetry Picnic Week 12: Feathers, Fidelity, Figment, and Fables
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Posted on May 12, 2011, in Poetry, Sonnets, The Gooseberry Garden and tagged andromeda, bilateral spiral, cluster, cosmic, Discover Magazine, fable, feather, feathers, fidelity, figment, filter, galaxy, gas, gooseberry garden, hydrogen, mind-numbing, pristine, shakespearean, sonnet, spiral, streamer, vanes, whirlpool. Bookmark the permalink. 34 Comments.
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ZONGRIK 
Really COOL, I love the wordplay in this!!!! =))) Such talent!!
Thanks so much for your kind words. I’m so happy you had a chance to read this.
I enjoy the skill and accuracy of your words.
“Free-floating hydrogen was drawn
into tangible streamer vanes of gas;
dust yanked like taffy, with endless brawn,
from the main arm.” love that description!
And this one “Cosmic layouts shaped like feathers and tails:” awesome. I love the mix of poetry & science.
mind-numbing forces, energies and scales.
Sometimes, science is art, and therefore deserves poetry.
Thanks. I get some of the phrases from @badastronomer, directly from his blog. I have to give him credit when and where it is due.
Love it, nice to see science in poetry.
Yes, I think it’s important to get away from poems about love and misery. (and sometimes those are the same thing.)
I really LUV your poetry… the words not only speak to the reader, but blend harmoniously with the artwork you’ve chosen! I’m a fan 4 sure!!!
I’m really happy you like my work. I hope you subscribe too!!
Great Wordplay!
Thank you for sharing this with me, I found it excellent, I congratulate you!! ttsnoopy
I do like this poem.
A marvelous poetic flight into celestial pondering, including fine wordplay that to me seems balanced by several layers of suggestion.
Magnificent! You truly have a gift with Sonnets. I loved these stand-out lines: “Clusters of stars surpass
a single bright light in beauty, but can’t
match up to a more exquisite rival”
Reading your Sonnets are a pleasure!
Actually, that has a meaning within astronomy. The most beautiful shaped galaxies, in opinion, and I think also in the majority opinion, are spiral galaxies. Ours is a spiral galaxy. The most famous would be Andromeda.
The next most famous shape are elliptical galaxies.
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/03/new-discovery-evolution-of-the-most-massive-galaxies-in-the-universe.html
This website tells a bit how they were formed.
Then there are the clusters, kind of boring relative to elliptical and spiral.
http://galaxywire.net/tag/galaxy-cluster-macs-j0717/
So, the line sounds very poetic and abstract, but it has a meaning. I’m trying to say that a cluster of stars is prettier than just one star, but still not pretier than the more exquisite rival, the spiral galaxy.
Thanks for your comment.
Love your poetry,It strikes a chord within.
Regards j.
I’m glad you like my work. i hope you subscribe.
amazing space pondering.
Wonderful ~~
This was beautifully done. great depth, in keeping with the enigmatic universe.
very deep and thought provoking.
🙂
Zongrik,
This is magical! I’m enthused. I’m so glad to have found your blog.
And I just have to gush about your being an aerospace engineer. Bravo! 🙂
Nel
wonderfully beautiful.
😉
not onlt is this a great sonnet but i can`t help looking and looking at the pic.very good,Tammy
nice….you know i love space…and even they can be off kilter…yes, and us too…magical as ever ma’am…smiles….
What a perfect example of the form–and though it’s about a scientific concept, its rich in language and allusion. I think the stars in question look a bit like a cobra, coiled to strike.
Wow, a galactic sonnet, no less! – I am impressed yet again by your poetic ability.
Very deep. Is there any other subject than love and misery? ( Being witty here ) LOL
Hats off to your superbly crafted sonnet
gorgeous– the poetry science has poured through you! I especially love: dust yanked like taffy, with endless brawn,
from the main arm. xxxj i’m at the other blog, as you know. xxxj
Cool write. The use of casual everyday “soft” things like taffy and streamers when in actual fact these are strongest forces in the universe at work, yet at a distant, one observes the gracefulness and seemingly gentle elegant movements. A thing of wonder and awe.
Tammy, you’re poetry is often like exotic glassblowing image-objects filled with color, taking unusual form .. this is sheer beauty!
As an amateur astronomer, I relate closely to your observations. Your metaphors are unique and so fitting. Well written beauty
This is seriously beautiful. I admire how you’ve flexed within the sonnet structure, wrapped lines around it, surprised with every rhyme (rival-frightful!).