METEOR CONTEMPORARY POETRY PROJECT (3)
touching the universe through the littlest heavenly body

Previous issues:
-Leopoetry- prologue, at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1088-20k
-Meteor Contemporary Poetry Project, at
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/imo-news/message/1177-19k
-Meteor Contemporary Poetry Project (2), at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imo-news/message/1321-21k

~Valentin Grigore (president@...), Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
(sarm@...), Alastair McBeath (meteor@...)~

(With the current issue, to make this IMO project more attractive,
we have expanded its field through a supplement of astropoetry on
related phenomena and all the astronomical elements connected to
meteor observations. The next issue, for which we wait for
submissions, will appear at the winter solstice 2004.- Coordinators)


~I. A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO PETER McBEATH (1923-2004),
author of a remarkable Leonid 1999 fireball photo, Alastair's father,
who sadly died on 2004 March 30~

"One of my favourite wild flowers is the Cuckoo Flower, so called
because it blooms when the first cuckoo sings. I can look at this
flower for a very long time, and find no fault in it, from its delicate
shade of pink, to its beautiful form; and in it perfection. This must
be Heaven on Earth, and if this is so I have learned something on
my journey."
~Peter McBeath, 1997~

"An old belief says that a star falls at every man's death.
There are no major meteor showers when the cuckoo begins to
sing.
Perhaps because the cuckoo sings too movingly, and a Cuckoo
Flower blooming seems like a meteor bursting out not in the
atmosphere, but on Earth.
However, it is certain that a fireball fell at the end of March 2004, to
take with it a noble soul."
~Andrei Dorian Gheorghe, 2004 April~

~II. METEOR POEMS~

METEOR HAIKU
~by Giovanni Malito (1957-2003; he was an Italian born in Canada
and established in Ireland, father of 3 children, an appreciated poet
and haiku author, and edited The Brobdingnagian Times; a page of
tributes to his memory can be found in Zimmer-zine at
http://www.nhi.clara.net/z106.htm )~

morning…
the last star falls
into the wishing well

METEOR SHOWER
~by Adrian Sima (Romania)~

What can the darkness
bring us
into the glassy cage
of the night,
from the stars with eyes
of travelling birds?

Perhaps the grey pollen of the sea?

The dream?

Perhaps the bow of your living heart?

Or the teeth of an angel
chewing its supper?

HAIKU
~by Tina Visarian (Romania)~

the voice of the sky
I concentrate myself
it's a meteor

A 2004 WINTER EVENING
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

A clear evening,
without meteor showers.

Hungry for heavenly lights,
I'm going home
through a large park,
trying to avoid the pollution
and hoping to be blessed by
the shine of a sporadic fireball.

In fact,
hungry for heavenly bodies,
I'm going to Jupiter,
pushed by Venus,
and Orion has risen above the lake
like a wing of mine.

"Don't worry,"
says kindly Sirius
on the edge of my flight,
"tomorrow
the Moon will be bigger."

FIREBALL
~by Constantin Dumitrescu-Cunctator (Romania)~

Why am I not scared of a dragon
Coming like a tale in the night,
Pouring out fire through mouth and nostrils,
And rippling golden buds in the sky?

SPRING LYRIDS
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

(I. MARCH 2004-
a few weeks before the Lyrid meteor shower)

*
The twilight has left a great light
above the horizon.
Is it Venus?
*
Pricked in his left paw by Saturn,
the Lion cannot set.
What a March morning!
*
I watch the Moon through a smoky shiver.
Should a solar eclipse happen?
*
I play die with my grandmother's beads,
perhaps they'll imagine
Coma Berenices.
*
Orion sits in a walnut tree
like a paper dragon.
Stay more, please,
I'd like to take some embers
from Sirius.
*
This evening the Moon forgot to rise.
My mother put it in a pan
and we ate it with some cheese.
*
The child jumped over the back of the gate
and closed the doors-
a fugitive look at the mute horizon.

(II. THE SECRET-
a few days before the Lyrid meteor shower)

After the saviour' death,
the stars refused to shine
at the root of the cross
of serenity.
His mother cried (tears of blood)
the full moon.

(III. SPRING LYRIDS)

I cannot thank you enough,
Sacred Depth.
But why did you give
the light of eyes
to a blind stone?

On an early late,
I called you happy on the horizon
and burnt with my knees,
shedding tears over dawn.
But you did not say
why the light pains us.

TAKING METEOR FOR PORTENT AT CAER ABIRI
~by Steve Sneyd (U.K.)

firestream's dire down from
sky roof sets woman crying
how means next comes war,
her universe so small she
knows its every corner knows
which horsemen come when
to slice children's throats, burn huts,
reply to sky fire

NEED OF LYRIDS
~by Diana Georgescu-Mitrut (Romania)~

The light,
startling an eternal oath,
chatters
with a stone flake:
lost and cruel night eyes,
a whisper…
and a rush towards the Earth!

YOU CAN…
~by Iulian Andrei (Romania)~

You can run…
You can fly…

You can fall…
You are a meteor!

You can remain…
You are a comet!

MAY 2004 HAIKU
~by Gelu-Claudiu Radu (Romania)~

busy sky again
after the lunar eclipse
eta aquarids

METEORS
~by Tania Tilici (Romania)~

Truths beyond time…
Petals of eternity…

ALPHA CAPRICORNIDS
~by Valentin Grigore (Romania)~

Austral realm
sending to the north
messengers disguised
into shades of light.

Tired of the road,
but full of brightness,
they are welcome with cheers
by the observers of the hill camp,
who transform themselves
into chroniclers of the sky:

1996.07.29/30, 23:42:31 UT
Alpha Capricornid, -4, fireball…

HAIKU (variant)
~by Eliza Trandafir (Romania)~

I feel a cloud's ghost
and hide myself
under a meteor's shadow

FIGHTING HYDRA
~by Dominic Diamant (Romania)

When this galactic flying being
fights so faithfully,
propagating his living laser,

the darkness is broken
and cosmic Hydra disappears.

In the warm nights of August,
we admire delighted
the bright wreaths
in the canopy of heaven
and call them… Perseids.

REKINDLED SPIRITS
~by Hannah Inglis (U.K.)~

Our spirits are rekindled,
In the fire of the night.
Under the stars that brightly shine,
Among the trees that tower down,
Through each silhouetted leaf.
Protected, nestled amongst the leaves,
We curl up into ourselves.
The rain drops, like a diamonds glitter,
The stars fall and scatter upon the ground,
As we dance amongst their light.
I catch one in my palm and hold my breath,
It's warm and safe and precious.
It glows like crystal,
Shines like rain, in the glinting of the sun.
I let it go, blowing as a fairy on a breeze,
The light of this love will never fall away.

METEORS (1)
~by Ion Moraru (Romania)~

In a summer time,
I was on a hill
to observe meteors.

Sitting in the night
and waiting for beauty.
Some friends, sky lovers,
and a state of ecstasy.
Fixed stars filling us
with their mystery.

And suddenly they came,
the Perseids,
as a rain.

It was a story
without words.

SEPTEMBER FIREBALL
~by Diana Maria Ogescu (Romania)~

A young September fireball
tangled its long tail
like a sky knife
into a grape.

The night began to drip
sweet meteors.

ORION TRIPTYCH
~haikus by Agnes Eva Savich (U.K.)~

dark three silhouettes
low on the horizon
Orion rises

cold night-
a plane blinks through
Orion's bow

dwindling bonfire
a shooting star
near Orion

METEOR ENTHUSIASM
~by Geanina Popa and Marius Istrate (Romania)~

The radiant-father threw
his sons to the Earth
to impress the earthlings' souls.

Caught in this magic,
one of them,
wishing to eclipse the constellations,
retired from the way of his destiny
to find a special moment of glory.

He chose to borrow from the Moon
more brightness
and to share it with the earthlings.

He is enthusiastic,
but, looking back,
his life movie is too slow,
and, looking forward…
so much frost!

He does not touch the Moon,
and… is lost!

LEONID FOLLIES
~haikus by Arlene Carol Brill (Turkey)~

Leonid Follies,
Some Haiku to pass the time,
While waiting till Fall.

Waiting for the stars
Anticipation runs high
Whoops! My head is wet.

Come ye Leonids!
I have waited for so long
Why are you hiding?

Oh look over there
Another streak flies past us
Or was it a moth?

Chicken Little, yes
The sky is really falling
No wait… Leonids.

Anticipating…
Holding your breath does not help
Nor do your loud shouts.

Not enough fingers
To count the swift visitors
From a comet's tail.

There and there and there
Whiplash- trying not to miss
A single bright flash.

Do not even blink
For fear you will somehow miss
The Big One tonight.

Falling stars will come
At their own pace and time
You can do nothing.

Ouch, pain in the neck
Too long gazing in one place
Change you position.

What kind of a fool
Sits in the rain just waiting
For a fleeting glimpse?

METEOR MEDITATIONS (1)
~by Cristian Miala (Romania)~

You cannot simulate
you walk in a galaxy
when you are
in a black hole.

METEOR HAIKUS
~by Iulian Olaru (Romania)~

*
An autumn night.
As a face of star
the icon of a leaf.

*
moment of ecstasy
illusion of whisper
voice of light

*
The night coldness.
I put another meteor on fire
and warm myself.

GEMINID RADIANT
~by Diana Tampu (Romania)~

contemplated eternities
in constellations
Castor and Pollux

METEORIC
~by Arnold Leinweber (Romania)~

This evening
With a flavoured wing
I look at the sea of stars,
And I'd like to fly towards them.

I'd like to carry
A winged power,
And to fly towards them
At least for only one hour,

To take a bouquet of stars
From the secret of the skies,
And to give it to mother comet
With profound, blue eyes.

FEELING
~by Catalin Bunofschi (Romania)~

Oh, you, meteor,
Broken arrow of destiny!

BEFORE THE GEMINID METEOR SHOWER
~by Gabriel Ivanescu (Romania)~

Excerpt of Cosmos
with an incident.

A cold night
and two children, twin brothers,
looking at the sky:

"Stop, my star,
Castor in glory!"

"Stop, my star,
Pollux in glory!"

This could be the beginning
of an immortal story…

METEORITA
~pseudo-ballad by Ionel Catalin Diaconu (Romania); inspired by the
Romanian national myth-ballad Miorita~

In a sky field,
full of mystery,
a comet came
fluttering her tail
under the space wind
near the Earth.

In this way,
the wind scattered her children,
nice and mild meteoroids.

Looking at them,
their mother said with love:
"Good bye, my little dears!"

The greatest of them,
a beautiful maid,
looked after the comet:
"So long, mother,
and do not be afraid.
Being the greatest among my sisters,
I'll fully accept our destiny.
We'll be wives
of the bridegroom Earth.
We'll fall from the high skies
as fate wants.

If it is a silver day,
nobody will see my shine,
and I'll die in flight
singing a love song.

If the Moon is in the sky,
I'll try to shine
more than it,
people to see me
and to understand
that a soul is gone,
a falling star
becoming a bride
in Earth's house.

If the night is black,
I'll lighten
more than any star,
tracing out my way
in the canopy
by a long and golden thread
from death's laurel,
Earth to love me.

People will see me,
a bright falling star,
astronomers will talk
about my wedding,
and poets will praise
my love for Earth."

And speaking so,
she fell from the sky
as in an old and sacred vow.
Meteorita, lightening the night
with her love,
fell on Earth,
a very fine powder,
coming true of the dream.

~III. OTHER RELATED OR SPECIAL ASTROPOEMS~

COSMIC LOVE
~by Stefan Berinde (Romania)~

if I am
a wandering comet
then you are
my sun
calling me
always back
to your heart
where
finally
I end

SURVIVAL DEMANDS SACRIFICE
~by Steve Sneyd (U.K.)~

When we drilled our holes
to place explosives to divert
city-block-size asteroid
aimed at Earth we found
asleep at core a star-beast
gold and crystal full of wings-
retargeted, will wake phoenixed in Sol.

TOMORROW
~by Adrian Sima (Romania)~

Scared of the quick universal expansion,
I closed myself
unwinding the clouds
in shells of meteors…

But… what can I do with
this cometary laths?
If I carve two-three more,
it is enough to enclose
even the Sun,
but who can guarantee me
that today
will not continue tomorrow?

THE OUTER RIM
(for Slim Zaremba)
~by Blair Ewing (USA)~

Out there the closest buses are comets.
Inhuman distances devour everything
save our projected eyebeams.

As we peer into the void, we scatter
names and wreckage as a form of homage.
For all our linguistic juggling, Slim,
our world weighs less
than the slightest solar whim.

Still, these baubles keep their balance,
spin and run and bend their grooves
around the rim.

Held at bay, chaos tips its brim
and glances back at the time
before zero, before the blast.

These days, this tiny system
seems well-run, but as you know,
such things can't last.

Out beyond the ruby planet,
past Saturn's necklace, beyond even
that Pantagruel of planets, Jupiter
(a planet so empty, it's only gas), past
the weakened fingers of old Sol's pull,
where even Kuiper's Belt belongs
to another, beyond where
Charon strains at Pluto's tether,
Time's weather seems far less cruel.

MYSTERY
~by Zigmund Tauberg (Romania)~

With noise and lights
an intruder
came from space
and exploded
from its own structure.
No crumb was left,
a real mystery.

Why did it pull out and fell
the lofty trees
raising their pride to the sky?

Was it a comet?
Or a meteorite?
Or… what kind of unknown ferment?

In the Siberian "taiga",
this mystery is still ardent.

TANKA AND HAIKU WITH VENUS
~by Gerald England (U.K.)~

(TANKA)

Mars in Pisces
sickle moon and Venus
in Aquarius
fish pie for supper
this winter night.

(HAIKU)

twilight
an incoming plane flies by
Venus twinkles

ANOTHER KIND OF GAME
~by Dan Mitrut (Romania)~

The deaf rumble
the embers breathing of the Sun

only the comet of my dream
passing unleashed further
and playing backgammon
with the telescope

AN UNEXPECTED INSPIRATION
~by Galina Ryabova (Russia)~

I was born on Earth, in a place
where the Sun is not "she" or "he",
and by no means "it".

COMET HAIKU
~by Iulian Olaru (Romania)~

icy scepter
breaking the sky gate
into thousands of stars

A CUBIST'S STILL LIFE
~by Doug Tanoury (U.S.A.)~

The sky was perfectly azure today,
With no more than few faint wisps
Of cirrus and stratus clouds
Feathering lightly across high attitudes
Above the southern horizon.
This clear autumn day
That to me is like one of Picasso's blue paintings.
These are the days of dim indigo,
Where dusk never fully darkens to night,
And dawn never really advances towards day,
But is stunted and weak like the first light
That shines each morning through the Sycamores.

There are the days of suspended disbelief
Where I believe, what once I did not,
In a turned around consciousness that has slipped
Between darkness and light into
That limbo state
That is the mezzanine of being,
Where everything is lit in cerulean hues,
And whatever I do
Is so much empty motion,
Mere mimesis,
A cubist's still life.

BIDIMENSIONAL MISSION
~by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (Romania)~

It is not hard for astronomers
to follow the fireballs' trajectories
among the constellations.

But you,
far little comet,
leaving raw, dying drawings in space
like some supernatural white auroras…

In your memory,
I shall build a greater telescope
to look for your tiny meteors
among the deep sky objects.

IMAGERIE
~by Srinjay Chakravarti (India)~

The 12-year-old girl
had just returned from a visit
to the planetarium.

She picked up a pincushion,
with at least fifty pinheads
studded on black velvet.
"Look, I hold in my hand
the night sky of our city
with galaxies embroidered
on the darkened ceiling
of Stella Planetarium."

~Copyright 2004 by the authors~

All English translations from the Romanian
by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
http://www.airclub.rdsnet.ro/astronomical_adventures/
http://www.airclub.rdsnet.ro/6_words/index.htm






* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Valentin GRIGORE
Presedinte SARM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CP 14, OP 1,
Targoviste 130170,
Dambovita
tel: 0722 829034, 0245 213851
e-mail: sarm@..., president@...
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
www.sarm.ro
Societatea Astronomica Romana de Meteori (SARM)
este societatea nationala de astronomie din Romania
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