Andromeda

ANDROMEDA

Looking above at the clear night sky one day,
I saw a lovely star in a cluster decay;
It might have happened eons ago, I think,
The great red star seemed to suddenly shrink!

I gazed spellbound, my breath just stopped,
When in the Orion, this star plainly popped;
I had heard supernovas were born thus,
But what I saw happened without any fuss.

The hunter's belt glimmered for a mo,
When the star gave off a dazzling little glow,
The M 31 object nearby just faded,
In light of the star that had just got jaded.

I am, of course, referring to Andromeda,
That very galaxy, not any otha',
It always was so faint, one could barely see,
It was never very dand-ee.

With the star next it going bang,
Andro, as we'll call it, in our slang lang,
Got peevish, reddened and fizzled outta sight,
To put it plainly - it certainly gave me a fright!

Then as the supernova burnt out,
The Andromeda too peeked out
Of its self-imposed quarantine,
And glowed like a newly crowned queen.

I looked at all this, from my small little chair,
In my house there is this all personal lair,
Before my eyes, Andromeda once again rose,
With a twist of its tail, and a dainty little pose.

I sang a dirge for the star and soon proclaimed,
The star is dead, the spot is reclaimed,
By that sweet little galaxy, the Andromeda,
Yes, that very same beauty, and none another.

© Dr. Taher Kagalwala

Poet's Note: Andromeda Galaxy, also called M 31, is the galaxy nearest to our own Milky Way. It can be seen with the naked eye as a small blurry spot of light just next to the second star in the "sword" of the Orion constellation. It is shaped much like the Milky Way.



Written for :

SLAM!  (18+) Spring 2006 SLAM! - Congrats to the winners - see you all next time! #554585 by Cappucine

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The prompt for the round was: Gazing Into The Heavens.