The Sestina of KT
The Sestina of KT
If they could only see her face
and the pride in executing these techniques.
Was she a work horse freed from her stable?
No! She is as free as the optical bird
flying above the Earth. “Oh Hubble!
I’ve come to fix your trouble!”
Nation: take time and trouble
to see freedom upon the face
of the attendant of Hubble;
with extraordinary skillful technique
holding a caged wing of the broken bird
drifting downtide toward a distinguished stable.
It takes an astronaut with style so stable
to considers it no trouble
to liberate a fellow solar bird:
reflections of white diamonds in the face-
mask of a sorceress, practicing her technique,
on the broken parts of Hubble.
Caged in her two hands is Hubble,
reconnoitered in its high tech stable
responding to input of dexterous technique:
There is nothing trivial about this trouble.
Road lights are maps of highways on the face-
plate. “How high am I?” asks this American bird.
The wings flap and waver as the paneled bird
escapes her hands. She looks down on Hubble.
The muscles relax: a smile on the face
of a woman who is able, to stand in the stable
of the horses of Apollo. It is no trouble
going forth with privileged technique.
She found her own working techniques
as her tired, heated wings, like a bird
of prey, were cooled by the flowing troubled
draught. She prays for answers from Hubble,
in a universe which may be expanding or stable;
to report the narrations on time’s face.
A rollout of new technique re expresses Hubble
as this thunderbird escapes by a flaming stable.
No more trouble upon this angel’s face.
************************
Written for:
Matt Quinn challenged us to a Sestina. I wrote this in 1993, when astronaut Kathryn Thronton fixed the Hubble Telescope along with her fellow astronauts.
The other astronauts called her KT. She teaches at University of Virginia now.
Here NASA bio:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/thornt-k.html
Her bio currently at UVA/Engineering Department
http://www.virginia.edu/facultyexperts/expert.php?id=437
Posted on August 26, 2011, in D’verse Poets Pub, Poetry and tagged able, apollo, astronaut, bird, broken, dexterous, diamonds, distinguished, dverse, dverse poets club, face, horses, hubble, paneled, reconnoitered, responding, solar, space telescope, stable, style, technique, trouble, white, woman. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Verification wastes my time, and often doesn't work. I am going to stop commenting on pages that require verification one of these days.
ZONGRIK 
that was an amazing insight,very wel expressed
I like this: “white diamonds in the face-mask of a sorceress”
Co-incidentally I watched the film about it this week. Your poem brilliantly captures the struggle and the incredible achievement of that mission which allows Hubble to keep sending us mind bending pictures that change our understanding of the universe, its evolution, our place in it, and the vastness and beauty of it all.
Gorgeous poem with all the elements. Thank you for linking with us.
A very visual presentation that was very intersting to boot. I really liked it. Much better than what I could come up with. This form is not my fav to write. You did great.
http://henryclemmons.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/poets-reach/#comments
An enjoyable sestina! Thanks for sharing it with us. The rhyme is some added fun.
She found her own working techniques
as her tired, heated wings, like a bird
of prey, were cooled by the flowing troubled
draught. She prays for answers from Hubble,
in a universe which may be expanding or stable;
to report the narrations on time’s face.
I love Hubble and regularly dive into the glorious pictures she returned. Your poem is a lovely tribute to one of the greatest achievements in space exploration.
Impressive! Loved your sestina. I love the Hubble as well, so it was a fun read for me.
The muscles relax: a smile on the face
of a woman who is able, to stand in the stable
of the horses of Apollo.
Excellent lines! Wonderful poem you have here.
I wrote one for dVerse. In case you did not get a chance to read it:
http://themslvh.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/paranoia-sestina/
Have a great day!
You chose a difficult subject and words and pulled it off, my friend. Big congratulations! Victoria
(Thanks for linking)
When a poet succeeds in making me pause after reading every line, then she must have invested a lot of imagery in a poem. For it’s hard for a poet to subject me to such, only great ones come close. You did. Sentina was not just meant to be seen with the eyes, heard with the ears or, be felt by the skin. It had more to be felt with the intellect as well. Good work!
wow. thank you for the great comment and compliments!!
When a poet succeeds in making me pause after reading every line, then she must have invested a lot of imagery in a poem. For it’s hard for a poet to subject me to such, only great ones come close. You did. Sestina was not just meant to be seen with the eyes, heard with the ears or, be felt by the skin. It had more to be felt with the intellect as well. Good work!
now i`ve read this three times and it sounds like you!