Category Archives: Science

Biome

March 26, 2022Life, poem, Poetry, Science, science poetrybiology, biome, Life, poem, poetry, science, science poetryThe Cheesesellers Wife

We too are worlds
we live with a shimmer of species
our own biome

Fungi, bacteria, in their billions
live on our skin, our hair, and
in our folded writhing gut

Many species of microscopic mites
thrive in the pores of your face
tiny unseen spiders ride us from home to home

The deadly game of predator and prey
plays out across and within you
whether you are awake or sleeping

Kissing a loved one does not just give affection
but transfers life of many different sorts
from your lips to their cheek

Weather Forecaster

May 22, 2021poem, Poetry, Science, weathermemory, poem, poetry, science, weatherThe Cheesesellers Wife

On the graveyard shift, we chase weather
parse our charts, work the numbers
issue warnings, brief pilots
wait for our relief to turn up
and then that blessed walk outside
into whatever we had been predicting

For just over one month many years ago, I worked shifts as a Weather Forecaster at Birmingham Airport…..

Mountains of the Moon

September 2, 2020astronomy, poem, Poetry, Science, Science Fiction Poetry, science poetry, SF, speculative poetryastronomy, poem, poetry, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Poetry, science poetry, SF poetry, speculative poetryThe Cheesesellers Wife

Their high mass tears at
pierces a pale sky
pulls at the high oranges
stealing it for their icy peaks.
As the mother planet rises,
methane snows glint
like golden crowns.

‘Mountains of the Moon’ was first published by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Associations print journal Star*Line, October 2019

Telescope

July 15, 2020astronomy, poem, Poetry, Scienceastronomy, poem, poetry, science, TelescopeThe Cheesesellers Wife

Lurking in a distant corner
That darkly reflective black tube
Of outsize length
Adorned with intricate knobs
And several precise gauges
Alien amongst our bright furnishings

Held tight by many adjustable clamps
It perches on a tall chromed tripod
Close to the door, angled , straining to escape
To collect starlight in its hidden mirrors once again
But now capped and dusty
Ornamental more than used

I really need to use my Telescope more often!

Rocks

May 27, 2020Life, philosophy, poem, Poetry, Science, science poetrygeology, Life, poem, poetry, science, science poetryThe Cheesesellers Wife

Unimaginably ancient, preserving moments in time;
billion year old pebbles from unknown floods
bones fallen into an ancient abyss
ten thousand year old footprints along an English estuary.
Sitting on a rock, you touch time.

Rocks move. They melt and set, erode to dust
and then the dust settles
forms new rock over time almost unimaginable.
This undulating plain formed at great depths
was thrust up to mountainous heights
now lies placid for your walking comfort.

Go find a rock
and travel in time and space.

Orion

April 11, 2020astronomy, poem, Poetry, Science, science poetryastronomy, Orion, poem, poetry, science, science poem, science poetryThe Cheesesellers Wife

Lifting over the horizon comes Orion
stellar giant writ large in the sky
seven winter stars, guiding me on dark nights
heavenly shepard

Rigel, bluebright, ten millions year young
living fast and furious
there at the giants front knee
pushing forward

Great Betelguese smolders
into dying at Orions shoulder
or maybe she’s blown away already
a light six centuries away

Hanging from a three star belt
stars are birthed swaddled in glowing nebulosity
look closely and you see their pinprick natal shine
count them and argue about it

The beginning of all understanding

February 8, 2020astronomy, beauty, cosmology, poem, Poetry, Science, science poetryastronomy, cosmology, dark matter, higgs boson, poem, poetry, science, science poetryThe Cheesesellers Wife

Darkness born from darkness
the beginning of all understanding
Tao te Ching, John H. McDonald, trans.

On an night when all possibilities seem open
when hills and towns and roads
dance and roll in my headlights
I muse on the dance of Higgs Bosons
across seeming emptinesses
matter forming and reforming
in deep space and time
in the most primeval dark