Eclipse

Scientists say we see only 4% of the universe, the rest is dark matter, dark energy. But no-one knows what that is.

Eclipse explores how we try to understand our universe: exploration, equations, imagination, science, superstition…

Written while working with University of Sussex astronomers during my residency in the Physics and Astronomy Department, this is the story of a singular encounter, spinning back to ancient moon myths, mathematical equations, and men and women across centuries who looked to the skies for answers. From Galileo to Newton to today’s astro-physicists, Eclipse celebrates our shared curiosity.


from Eclipse

Leaves fly like light debris
and a loud tarpaulin flaps quickly,
noise on the noise of the wind.

Fat clouds smoke across flat blue-black sky,
and quiet stars are replicas
in a painted ceiling.

I know those pin-prick holes
will be lost when I turn on the light,
but for now I am caught in the thrall of silver,

the vertigo of night sky lit
with hypnotic beams of violet and indigo
in white, whispers of madness and violence –

answerable rhythms that pull at my tides,
call to my hunger for a small heart cake,
a crust of bread.

All because the moon shows one side
of a chimney whiter than expected
as I stand, cold feet on wooden boards.

 

Winner in 2012/13 iOTA Shot competition.
Available to buy from Templar Poetry