This is the frozen waste of my existence,
so far from my host star
that I am a barely perceptible speck
from the terrain of any of my fellow travellers.
I am surely forgotten as I careen
dangerously close to the void of outer
space
where orbits are rare and bleak.
In my desolation I recall the warmth
and comfort of my long-ago perihelion,
when my frozen wastelands were gentle pools
of tepid waters;
where wildlife flourished and abundant
vegetation
caressed my craggy crust.
Gone, gone are those glorious balmy days
in which I basked in ‘goldilocks’ gaiety
and the splendour of life
gave me a profound sense of purpose and
fulfillment.
Then came the long autumnal drift
that I could not resist.
The seeping chills that slowly,
quelled the exuberance of life
and sapped my hospitality.
A time of sadness, a time of weeping
that grew more laboured
with every gasped rotation.
Now I can go no further from my sun
and in my better moments
I dare to feel a glimmer of hope.
Can hibernations last
not only through the precipitate sweep into
desolation
but also during the long, long return
flight?
In my frigid torpor,
are moments I am drawn to recall that
one-time glory
precisely for what it was.
A generous gift to a hyper-eliptical planet
which follows a slow-creeping vernality
that will surely break again
into exquisite resurrection.
Original introduction: In November 2012, at Great St Mary's, the University Church in Cambridge (where I was part-time fundraiser), we had a magnificent concert by the remarkable young violinist, Jennifer Pike. One of the pieces Jennifer performed was ‘Aphelion’, written by her father, Jeremy Pike.
Before playing, Jennifer described the sense of isolation the piece was intended to convey: the isolation of a celestial object when furthest from its sun. And that got me thinking. So, very many thanks to the Pike family, not only for beautiful music, but for a spark of inspiration.
A rather more lighthearted approach to another cosmic phenomenon can be found at Black Hole
Other poems, meditations and songs with a SCIENCE & FAITH theme can be accessed HERE
