Astronomical Poetry?

[Crater101]

Folks;


I chanced across this little verse the other day, thought it might be of minor interest to people...I do like the last couple of lines.



The Old Astronomer to His Pupil
Reach me down my Tycho Brahe, I would know him when we meet,
When I share my later science, sitting humbly at his feet;
He may know the law of all things, yet be ignorant of how
We are working to completion, working on from then to now.


Pray remember that I leave you all my theory complete,
Lacking only certain data for your adding, as is meet,
And remember men will scorn it, ’tis original and true,
And the obloquy of newness may fall bitterly on you.


But, my pupil, as my pupil you have learned the worth of scorn,
You have laughed with me at pity, we have joyed to be forlorn,
What for us are all distractions of men’s fellowship and smiles;
What for us the Goddess Pleasure with her meretricious smiles!


You may tell that German College that their honor comes too late,
But they must not waste repentance on the grizzly savant’s fate.
Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.


- Sarah Williams[/URL]


(from _Best Loved Poems of the American People_, Hazel Felleman, ed.
Garden City Publishing Co., Garden City NY: 1936, pp. 613-614)


I didn't know that Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer who made a number of pre-telescope observations that paved the way for future science. More info on him here...
[url]https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tycho-Brahe-Danish-astronomer (https://www.naic.edu/~gibson/poems/swilliams1.html)


Cheers!

[LewisM]

Here's my attempt at prose:


I see a star
It's very far
I buy a 'scope
and now I'm broke

[doug mc]

Twinkle twinkle little star
How wonder what you are

Still true after all these years.

[rrussell1962]

When you wish upon a star
it gathers clouds from afar.

[Sunfish]

There are some wonderful poems read about science in general and astronomy on the ABC radio national science show .

Pat Sheil has some great poems about science like this one

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/in-search-of-life-beyond-carbon/11797814

I like this one though
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/isotopes-and-allotropes/12420604

[Allan_L]

Here's one my daughter wrote following a viewing visit we shared at Rick Petrie's Avoca residence driveway.
She is a renowned Adelaide poet and won the Adrien Abbott poetry prize for 2013 with this effort.

[leon]

Your an idiot Lewis,:lol::lol: love it.

Leon:thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Takes one to know one :lol:

[Sunfish]

Very good.

[ngcles]

Hi All,

He took me out to see the stars,
That astronomic bore;
He said there was two moons near Mars,
While Jupiter had four.

I thought of course he'd whisper soon
What four fold bliss 'twould be
To stroll beneath that fourfold moon
On Jupiter with me.

And when he spoke of Saturn's ring,
I was convinced he'd say
That was the very kind of thing
To offer me some day.

But in a tangent off he went
To double stars. Now that
Was most suggestive, so content
And quite absorbed I sat.

But no, he talked a dreary mess,
Of which the only fraction
That caught my fancy, I confess,
Was "mutual attraction".

I said I thought it very queer
And stupid altogether,
For stars to keep so very near
And yet not come together.

At that he smiled, and turned his head;
I thought he'd caught the notion ;
He merely bowed good-night and said,
Their safety lay in motion.

Esther B. Tiffany


Best,

L.

[raymo]

Here's my attempt at prose.
I see a star
its very near
I bought a scope
instead of beer
raymo

[LewisM]

I am suing you for infraction and near plagiarising my garbage. I expect payment in gold

[raymo]

Yew Karnt soo mee faw thoes thinks cos I doant no wot thoes looong werds
meen.
raymo

[LewisM]

Ignorance is 9/10ths of the law

[raymo]

I promise not to do it again, pleeeeeeeeeeease don't sue me.:)
raymo

[LewisM]

Sue is a very imposing woman. I just might send her over to straighten you out

[raymo]

Actually that might help, as I am somewhat stooped. It would be very pleasant to walk upright again for a while before I fall off the perch.
raymo

[Sunfish]

Banter. Pure poetry.
And well done Les.
Esther sounds like the Marx brothers.

[Crater101]

Ha! Some classics here, do keep them coming.
:lol:

[LewisM]

Perch or porch?

[raymo]

It has to be perch, as when the time comes I have be able to lurch off
the purch. Sorry, best I could come up with in the few minutes before we
leave to go wildflower spectating.
raymo

[Sunfish]

Great thread Warren. I think Tycho had a guernsey in the play gallileo when they bought up Copernicus. Astronomy has become a popular theme in drama once more.

[RB]

Hence why Shakespeare wrote the play, 'The Taming of the Shrew', when he acquired his first telescope.....

:lol:

[Crater101]

Cheers mate! It's caused a bit more inspiration than I thought! :)

[DarkArts]

Some weird Haiku (https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/other/haiku/):


Summer star party.
We amble gazing upward.
Ouch, who left that there?


Celestial zoo.
Distant dark matter abounds.
Don't feed the black holes.

[Crater101]

Seems I'm more behind the times than I thought. I stumbled across this poster...

[gaseous]

Twinkle twinkle, little star,
The seeing’s crap, pack up the car.

[solarcoaster]

Sunburn

As I gazed into the sky above
And viewed the mighty orb
I couldn’t help but notice
All the rays I had absorbed

Suddenly it dawned on me
A proper fool was I
I hadn’t used a filter
So it burned right through my eye

solarcoaster

[julianh72]

Star – A Haiku

Midnight in my yard
A myriad stars twinkle
In my telescope

julianh72

[gaseous]

There once was a man from Nantucket,
Who bought a quite large photon bucket.
At its very first light,
Clouds covered the night.
“This is a joke”, he said. “F*** it”.

[Peter Ward]

A little before James Cook was dispatched to observe the transit of Venus, and while he was at it, see if he could find Australia. A pair of Englishmen sailed to Philadelphia to survey what was to be called the Mason-Dixon line...having no clue that their seminal work would effectively be used to divide the North and South during the American civil war.

Mark Knopfler wrote a song about Mason and Dixon's epic survey....and while not strictly poetry...the lyrics have a delightful Astronomical theme:

I am Jeremiah Dixon
I am a Geordie Boy
A glass of wine with you, sir
And the ladies I'll enjoy
All Durham and Northumberland
Is measured up by my own hand
It was my fate from birth
To make my mark upon the earth

He calls me Charlie Mason
A stargazer am I
It seems that I was born
To chart the evening sky
They'd cut me out for baking bread
But I had other dreams instead
This baker's boy from the west country
Would join the Royal Society

Now you're a good surveyor, Dixon
But I swear you'll make me mad
The West will kill us both
You gullible Geordie lad
You talk of liberty
How can America be free
A Geordie and a baker's boy
In the forest of the Iroquois

Now hold your head up, Mason
See America lies there
The morning tide has raised
The capes of Delaware
Come up and feel the sun
A new morning is begun
Another day will make it clear
Why your stars should guide us here....

[solarcoaster]

The Lost Telescope

I cannot find my ‘scope
Did you take it in the night?
I know you didn’t like it
But that doesn’t make it right

I loved that little telescope
I got the thing for free
It was great at viewing DSOs
But not for planet’ry

solarcoaster

[Sunfish]

Very funny. Really telegraphs the punchline that one. I suppose that is what a limerick does. Is a limerick poetry?

Some would disagree but I like it. I like all of them really.

[julianh72]

Two thumbs up from me!
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:

(You can never go wrong with any song / poem / Limerick which mentions "Nantucket"!)

[TrevorW]

There was a man from Mars
Who like to play with cars
In Elon Musk he put his trust

When will his Starman make it to Mars

[leee]

With my Heart pounding -
Tonight's sky's are astounding.
But, I must leave, with sorrow.
As it is work, tomorrow.
I shall be back soon.
Maybe with the first New Moon.
Till then my Astro. Mate - Guys
Keep your eyes to the sky's.

[Sunfish]

There was once a singing lawyer around Sydney who sang in cafes about catching the ferry to work which mentions the same rhyme. I agree . Nantucket gets my vote every time.

Let’s sing and be merry
On the rose bay ferry
If we run about of fuel we will row ho ho

Well it’s off to Nantucket
Better get a bucket
As it’s choppy on the open sea.