below the earth, you are hard, unbreakable, sparkling. inventing a plutonian heartbeat, a girlhood-type grief, tending to a young universe that tastes of even younger vows.
i want you to float. i want stars to open up to your embrace, fall into place behind your first full orbit around mars. one-way, two steps, three breaths in the direction of cosmic sod, keeping both arm outstretched to break into a smile.
i want you to admit that the human heart lives life through metaphor. you are not the thick-skinned torso that treads inner-city pavement paths. you are the enviable entirety of the pre-lit sky, hard, unbreakable, sparkling.
I originally started this poem wanting to write about plants, but by the end, the image in my mind was of a young girl stepping through the universe along with the star children from Howl’s Moving Castle. Who doesn’t love pondering the night sky?
in another universe, i am waking up to lavender birdsong. grand, gracious oak trees spread their branches from the cavities of the earth and i don’t have to worry about cavities on my teeth, or the inches of my waist. i can have as much honey as i want.
the sky is purple, but the kind of purple you see on lilacs in a field garnished gold by the early morning sun as you drive by a wheat farm on the way to mars.
in another universe, the grapes are always sweet. we will be sitting side by side looking down at the world from a mountain of mundane moments, but more human all the more because of them.
Death as solely a concept is not a luxury that humans can afford.
If life is a simple trick of biology, a specific sequence of atoms and molecules, does that mean that life has no meaning? That we, in fact, have physical restraints, and are forced to come to terms with the certainty that we are not bigger than ourselves; do not have much time in the world; are an infinitesimally small speck in the grandest timeline of existence?
Or, does it mean that the living body—despite all barriers and boundaries—prevailed against the universe to give itself meaning?
I postulate this: there is not a single life without meaning; and conversely, there is no meaning without the essence of being. But be-ing is not merely the biological definition of a working mind.
There are black holes that dance around each other for eons, finally collapse into each other’s arms. They create waves in the space-time continuum, washing lengths of pure energy over the universe. Hauntingly beautiful, and yes, woefully abstruse. There is beauty still—in the absence of life anywhere in the cosmos, in the organizations of electrons and quarks.
Persistence is written into the very fabric of the universe. The meaning of life resides in these nooks and crannies, in the evening thoughts of the poet, the messy proofs of the mathematician, the chlorophyll creating the colour of grass, the stars blazing in the sky. What I mean to say is: persistence is being. Persistence is meaningful. Persistence is beautiful.
I ran across the field of stars Over my sun and ten thousand leagues far Meteors rained down upon me as a storm brewed But a wave washed me away to the frozen valley of forgotten moons
The sea of stars twists around me sparkling and fading into distant galaxies The colour of a universe is not one that all can see easily Mine is a brilliant light unknown to man
Whales float across the sky Birds by the millions ready their wings to fly Goliath dragons roam the void for a place to call home Among the creatures of the night I no longer felt alone
I traveled through eons of time just to realize a lie Thought the noise of my tears were my battle cry I walk across the clouds and among the beasts, But then I fall back down to the sea
My mind twists dreams into a reality Ever-present Celestials visit a place shrouded in mystery The sun and moon are both high in the heavens Creating for me a new haven of shadowed light.
Silent supernovae share a pulsing light and rupture colliding planets Beautiful catastrophes wreak havoc Battles continue through dawn and dusk, surrounding the cosmic shrine Still, through it all, the universe inside me shines
(Please do not repost or use my works without my permission.)
This is the last part of my epic poem fragment series (so far)! The interpretation of the poem is up to you readers!
Important Words:
Apotelesma — the influence that stars have over human destiny (Latin) Noctifer — the evening star Carina — dear, beloved (Italian) Polaris — the north star Sidereus — relating to or of the stars (Latin) Antares — a star Rigel — another star
Book V, Part IV — The Battle of Noctifer
Carina of the brave heart wielded her character as if it were her sword, And with the strength of the fiery sun blazing through herself, charged forward. Noctifer, he who had chained her mind for so long, Became afraid as Carina’s soul finally sang its rightful song:
“O devil of the wicked deeds, As I square with thee, my whole self aches and bleeds. But no longer will I suffer this abuse that you lead! In defeating you tonight, I can be free.”
Then the Night Bringer scoffed at this latest remark, As he did not believe in this flame that had been kindled from a forgotten spark. “Carina, you say this as if this is the most admirable, Tis a shame that today your defeat will be brutal.”
Carina declared, “Perhaps today, fate is not on my side and thy victory be clear, But I have realized that is no longer my greatest fear. For you will never win over my mind, As long as I have the good-hearted angels by my humble side.”
Hearing this, Noctifer rose from his throne, And summoned the hordes of dark masses, the troops he called his own. Carina braced for the attack, As the dark masses pressed down upon her, and all that was seen was pitch black.
With one slice of her blade, she expelled the flood of darkness, But the battle had just begun, and Noctifer was set to render her joyless. So he sent his second in command, another frightful star: Antares, who made people quake in terror as his power was rival to that of Mars.
Yet Carina of the brave soul drew her sword, And after a fierce lock of their blades, drove it through his collarbone. Shortly came the fearsome star Rigel, he who was master of all that was miserable and desolate, When he had been a bright star, he betrayed the Guardians and closed the celestial gate.
Carina defended her best against Rigel, Who had made several blows to her form as she went under a painful spell. But she recovered and shattered the helmet off ‘is mane, Cracking it on the ground of the heavenly plain.
Now the head of Rigel lay bare, And like a vicious predator taking its final leap before the kill, Carina met her mark with flair. She brought Rigel down, channeling her great newfound euphoria, The giant was down to his knees, and she drove sword through skull, the end of a dark era.
Finally, Noctifer acknowledged the striking truth, Carina would not back down and could not be subdued. For even now, during this battle, the angels were there, fighting off the masses of darkness so she could undertake the true dare.
The valiant ones were winning, more than half the dark army was felled So in one final try, Noctifer yelled, “You will never find true peace! I will never allow it, lest my existence cease!”
And then, Carina realised what had been with her all along, Some fragment of an idea that arrived with the people that had helped make her strong. Noctifer was nothing to her, what did he matter? She had already found true joy, and her own fate she did alter.
So in response to Noctifer, she whispered, “You are wrong, peace came to me with my angels, my saviours.” And with a blood-curdling scream stretching across the universe, Noctifer was slain, ridding Carina of her grave curse.
The angels rejoiced the victory of their companion, And the guardians of the sky that loved the triumphant mortal felt their serene smiles broaden. Now Carina and the angels embraced, And then she said this as she was graced:
“Tonight I’ll fall asleep with all of you in my heart, As you became my friends, and thousands of villains we did thwart. For you gave me the most beautiful home in this vast universe I was once willing to depart And I’m grateful to you all, for my life’s new start.”
Momo's Musings 