Meteor Contemporary Poetry Project

~Andrei Dorian Gheorghe, Alastair McBeath, Valentin Grigore~

Since 1995, the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy-
SARM have offered yearly anthologies of "meteor and astro" poetry
to the participants at every IMC, all these anthologies (which have
become international since 1997) being edited by Andrei Dorian
Gheorghe with the support of Valentin Grigore.
At the IMC 2002, Andrei directed an artistic act, Meteor Poetry
Parade, in which two Romanian nice girls presented all the 1995-
2002 series. (Unfortunately, there are many IMO members who
couldn’t be present at those IMCs, and didn’t receive the
astropoetry anthologies.)
On 2002 December 13, Andrei and Valentin published in the IMO-
News electronic list another international anthology, Leonids 2002
("leopoetry"), including 23 texts from 5 continents. And a new
solution has appeared...
At the same time, since 2003 Alastair McBeath has initiated
Meteor Beliefs Project in WGN, based especially on his
researches in old meteor texts, mythology, observations and
poetry (sometimes in co-operation with Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
and other researchers).
So, in a better formula (Gheorghe, McBeath, Grigore), we propose
you a new IMO humanistic project: Meteor Contemporary Poetry.
That means every year (beginning with 2003), on the days of
solstices, we shall publish original mini-anthologies of meteor
contemporary poetry in IMO-News, for which you can send
submissions to Alastair McBeath (meteor@...),
Valentin Grigore (sarm@...) and Andrei Dorian
Gheorghe(gheorghedorian@...).

Here is the first series:


LEONID LIMERICK
~by David Asher (UK)~

You should try very hard to remember
The meteor storm in November,
As you’re likely to fail
To get a meteor trail
To repeat the event in December.

(first published in Romanian Contemporary Astropoetry 2002 and
Guests; read by the author at the IMC 2002 - Frombork)


THE END OF MIR SPACE STATION (haiku)
~by Galina Ryabova (Russia)~
(In Russian, "mir" means "world")

Is it a meteor shower?
No, it is the last second
of the "world".

(read by the author at the IMC 2002- Frombork)


LEONIDS 2002
~by Steve Sneyd (UK)~

other side of thick cloud cover,
they tell us, Leonids stripe sky with glory-
the toy shop’s shut too, this time of night,
child eyes pressed to its window
can’t see through thick grey security shutters


HAIKU
~by Giovanni Malito (Ireland)

a shooting star
streaks the sky
making it real


TO VICTOR ANESTIN (1875-1918)
~by Alastair McBeath (UK)~
(Victor Anestin was the first organizer of meteor astronomy in
Romania, and a great popularizer of astronomy)

The early fireball of Romanian astronomy;
alas, like a fireball,
too bright and too brief,
but dazzlingly impressive,
one to inspire us still today.

(read by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe at the Victor Anestin celebration,
"Admiral Vasile Urseanu" Municipal Observatory, Bucharest, 2003
January 11)


CLOSE
~by Valentin Grigore (Romania)~

The sky is so close, that even a child’s thought can touch it.
Don’t you feel its heart pulsating in every sprinkle of star,
and its soul in the meteors’ flight?
However... it is so hard to listen to its whispers
for understanding our sense
under its canopy of light...


GEMINID METEOR SHOWER
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~
(In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were considered protectors
of navigation)

The Twin Brothers walk in the sky,
dressed in the night colours.
Traces of their steps
are seen as meteors and fireballs,
protecting our spiritual navigation.

Castor and Pollux walk in the sky,
calling the winter solstice
through flying balls of fraternity,
and some heavenly justice.


EXCERPT OF DREAM
~Mircea Alexandru Popa (Romania)~

Earth - a sleeping giant
dreaming sceneries
with stars and pine trees

only the human dust
remains glued
in its eyeslashes

like some meteors
irreversibly caught
in the planets trap


ABOUT A LEONID METEOR
~by Eliza Trandafir (Romania)~

So little alive,
suddenly stock-still,
pressed by the cold darkness,
a small thread...
Past before present.
Is it real?
Was it?
Or just the wish to see a meteor?
Too fast for being light,
it will always be remembrance.


METEOR HAIKU
~by Iulian Olaru (Romania)~

life at countryside-
sowing wishes,
you collect meteors


THE LAST THOUGHTS OF A METEOR
~by Tina Visarian (Romania)~

The light covers me,
I have a smell of stone sun...
and shine!
The night drips me from the wind,
from nowhere.

The people’s look absorbs me...
and I perish.


METEOR HAIKU
~by Gelu-Claudiu Radu (Romania)~

my bizzare cometary dream
enlightening me
through meteors

(read by the author at IMC 2002- Frombork)


METEOR LIMERICK
~by Ionel Catalin Diaconu (Romania)~

There was an astronomer in a small town
Looking at the meteors falling down.
"Each meteor is good for me!"- he said,
But one of them fell just into his head.
There was an astronomer in a small town...


QUATRAIN
~by Constantin Dumitrescu-Cunctator (Romania)~

My God, living in eternity
I don’t see its childhood,
for a diamond meteor
is lost in an abyss floor.


CRAZY AND FRAGIL... METEORS
~by Diana Maria Ogescu (Romania)~

Crazy and fragil, meteors
like some fishes hungry of night,
came to look for some food in the sky.
A meteor observer
catches a few fireballs in his right hand,
and poultices his wounded left hand.


SET OF RADIANT
~by Geanina Popa (Romania)~

The light of Persis’ dark soul
becomes feebler.
A lost Perseid meteor looks for its sense in the sky,
like on the autumn, when the tree still has a last leaf.
Looking at the stars around,
it chooses the destiny for the next year.


IF
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

if some day you’ll break my heart
like warm bread
don’t give it to the darkness
but to a meteor that
wants to live one more second

I am not myself
but a lost orbit
for you,
dreams, stars, worlds
not to die desert

my cinders, wheat of light


(All the translations from Romanian into English were made by
Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)

*** *** *** *** *** ***
* * * * * * *
Valentin GRIGORE * * / *
SARM President * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
*** / / / *** / / / ***
* * * * * *
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Postal address: CP 14, OP 1, Targoviste, RO-0200, Dambovita, Romania
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
phone: +40 722 829034, +40 245 213851
e-mail: sarm@... , grigorevalentin@... , sarm@...
SARM Internet: http://www.geocities.com/valisarm
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````/````/``````*`
SARM - The Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy * * * * */ *
is the national astronomical society in Romania */ * / * * * * * /
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***