Star Poems

Star Poems Joe Gonnella

©2020 Joe Gonnella JoeGonnella.com

Star Poems Joe Gonnella

Draco: Thuban Suspect variable stated Smyth— once-upon-a-time Ptolemy’s pole— and before Moses—centering all spin— straight to Khufu’s heart—gazing obliquely up to a refused blue— despite wives’ tales well told— blatant in wishful daylight—hidden in forbidden night—a random measure of careful confusion—sport’s illusion— gambled then reconciled—the king’s breath counted—contained by an emperor’s intention blessed by a necromancer— none ever right—none ever wrong— worth confirmed by what robbers stole—

Canis Major: Sirius A & B Orion’s whelp—rainbow low—then spiteful white— Christ’s nearest herald save one—a true false dawn— ruby fights sapphire—emerald bickers with amethyst— evil augury—inauspicious fire shining like copper— ancient ruddy light cuts diamond miasma to fallen pearl— two arrows’ radial pace converge into each other as opposing waters rise, meet, commingle and move on— a dark pup warps her proper curve—a cow asleep in a slow boat foretells the heliacal rising of a thirsty jackal-headed bird—inundation’s urns up-turned to quench a dry country—sheiks will seek what the Dogon knew until heaven’s sweat denies the lone white dwarf’s duplicity— fugitive leader—scourge of days canicular—turncoat red— a gift for different eyes—giant diminished before its time—

Taurus: Aldebaran Ruddy ruby deer—burning auroch’s heart— God’s eye above a minaret—Mithra’s heavenly bull on San Clemente’s ceiling— Marduk’s bull of light—Buddha’s ghost leads us past Lumbini’s green to Rohini’s bank— past hoofed Osirus on Dendara’s wall—past Seti’s tomb at Thebes—Hercules’ bested beast— horns the horns of a wild ox—at Altamira— at Lascaux—strong bull, beautiful of birth— lead camel in a train of camels—interloper amidst lesser lights—moving against their tide— closer than Hyades’ cluster—larger and brighter than our sun—defining night stair step by stair step—

by Athens’ record of its ancient occultation Halley deduces proper motion—a red dwarf for companion—Minoan acrobats vaulting Europa’s bull’s consecrated horns—Io on the prowl—a white tiger walks through fire— rain attends its heliacal rising—torch-bearer— Persia’s guardian star follows heaven’s furrow to greet an equinox and eat hot cross buns baked on Adamnán’s stone at Tara’s feast on Candlemas when Satan’s secrets are revealed—

Eridanus: Achernar A+B From under heaven a river rises below Jove’s throne— water born of tears—oblate blue beauty— circumstellar ion halo—least spherical of all her sisters— brightest of all her brothers—double doubling back on itself—deep and long—squat and hot—Hesiod named her where Jason’s giovani found their fleece— Be stars bend to other fields—other pulses—lucid circling serpent—river of Paradise—meridian Nile— steeped in black Euphratan rage—Oceanus—Sihor— unreal emptiness—certain absence—non-negligible departures from normal orbits—forbidden emissions leading to excess infrared—Secchi saw those furrowed lines when water was all there was—when water was all there was not—when water was all there was going to be—when water was more than it could become— lost in a Euxine sea the Heliades shed amber tears for wayward Phaeton—their only brother—cast by an angry god into crooked liquid—muscled water— Cetus’ stream where demons embrace naked concubines and Dante lights his brightest torch to illuminate his un-companioned way and steers his great ship to harbor deep inside a multi-foliate white rose—

Rigil Kentaurus: AB+C Horse-man half-beast’s arm bends to blue heaven— earned heaven—paid for by a life given to inhospitable Hercules—Eratosthenes named you Chiron—star-gazer—rabbit-slayer— handyman— well-disposed to lead the leaderless to righteousness— fate writ in sky’s fire—Achilles’ mentor— easy risings—hard zeniths—cruel settings— your bejeweled right forefoot worshipped at dawn on the Nile by mortal eyes—worth your weight in what ten-thousand ships can carry—unity, discovered to be double at Pondicherry, yielded its period by the Cape of Good Hope—in Africa a slow companion flared for another’s eyes— Hipparcos proves by parallax Proxima’s intimacy to our lonely Sun as he gazes back and hopes for words he’ll never hear from two brothers who hunt missing lions with burning spears—

Argo Navis: Carina: Canopus Silver fire startles Neptune—wild diamond spirit-bright—radiant gold gone polar blue— Ptolemy sulks inside Serapis’ walls until he sights Aratos’ rudder—heroes walk this way— javelins pierce cloud—wicked monster speaks on the journey to its tree—goal of Phryxus’ flight— Orpheus strums order to others’ oar strokes— as beautiful to a Bedouin as his belovéd eternities’ blind eye rises where Sparta’s snake-bit pilot was laid low—Posidonius’ degree decreed by fits and starts— herald of fall’s equinox— god of rising waters—Voyager’s beacon— Vespucci’s Eden—Osiris’ gate where shadows enter and depart—birds of ill-omen worry fair women—camels weaned and on their way guide us through Arrakis’ wastes where old men shoulder weapons to ride worms and envious saints snuff out Cleopatra’s brighter fires to access an after-life only those who voyage home can know—

Lyra: Vega Falling eagle with an object in its beak—thing of things delivered by a storm bird’s claws— dry tendons across a tortoise shell— empty as an un-written sonnet— until Mercury comes upon it and teaches song to silent strings— when Orpheus plays what Apollo tuned waves obey—frets of fire free chords of air—heaven is gained— Eurydice breathes—rocks rise— swooping vulture star—ancient pole— pole to come—apex of the sun’s way— first photographed at Harvard on the 17th of July 1850—pale blue white arc light—sky’s fiddle— hero’s harp—David’s kinnor—Arion’s zither— light’s messenger—weaving woman at the wrong end of Magpies’ Bridge— far from what she loves—Tu Fu’s fan catches fireflies like these—rays within rays—azure corona—rings within rings—iron phoenix rises as bells fade—stand below this dark—fear the sapphire sign—lonely in howling black— boreal blue glare beckoning from night’s empty dream garden to doom’s dunes beyond cosmos’ edge—just out of reach— in silence be silent so as not to wake what sleeps in an immensity where only gods can be—

Taurus: Pleiades Blood red bull’s eye follows six-faced Skanda’s sisters into their separate unities— Nebra’s sky disc keeps them close— no chance alignment weds them to their rising— Messier measures one direction— steps on a cosmic distance ladder— Hipparcos’ parallax wrong by a weighted mean destined to be redeemed by another’s random error— at Roche’s limit they’ll find their freedom or be drowned—1000 confirmed suspects in this crowd—old Atlas’ children aboard a cloudy train—golden bees on a black mane cut like Agni’s fire—disturb Diwali’s dream— tidal forces bind these diamonds into a brooch to bring good luck to patient men who worry worthless beads to make amends to creatures they condemn—unfurl your sails—embrace these spiral arms and measure lithium’s exhaustion as you go—wingless doves escape to a darker sky bearing ambrosia to a drunken king—braided fireflies on a fibula pinned to virgin night’s cloak— al graspo de ua—to be reborn in bottles Bacchus seals—brown dwarfs warm no one—

Boötes: Arcturus Outcast pearl, coral bead, yellow topaz— beast watcher, bear badgerer, tempest bringer— as violent on arrival as on departure— christened early, invited late, fellow of gods— second calf of sleeping lion—shepherd of heaven— by Job’s cart, Jacob’s bier, ploughman’s wain— Arcturus and his sons lead to the southern chambers where risen Spica is skewered on a lance for harvesting what others planted— those who bring false suit or deny a debt will be noted and judged as will the humble, the virtuous, the good, the liars, the cheaters and the thieves— when bloody-fingered dawn reaches for Boötes’ throat grape clusters must be cut or Dionysus dies— haul up your ship, heap up stone, draw the bilge plug to drain the rain that would rot keel and gunnel— stow your folded wings away from wind and hang your rudder above the smoky hearth until time returns to way find by eye alone— no matter intrinsic oscillation or circling sub-stellar ghost sister— an equinox between her knees— steer your zenith star south unwavering toward home—

Taurus: Hyades Rainy fires vex a broad bull’s head— endless journeys—mountains and rivers without end—a drowned moon troubles exiled men—Bacchus’ baby-sitters born again—a boiling sea where sucklings seethe—Radagast’s disaster comes and goes—horror’s lair on a dark star’s lake beyond space and time— each member converging as they recede to immortal eyes—132 by Van Beuren’s count—many more detected by Lowell’s blink projection—faint dwarves can’t hide this close to human eyes—radial velocity measured in recession—a poet’s sad companions weeping as they sleep—a dry mother’s moist daughters mourning their brother lost to the boar he hunted—Pythagorean V or triangular spoon—camel’s bearing Aldebaran’s wealth to woo bright women who once doubted his net worth—rich in doubles for those with small glasses— the violation of night’s border announced by slaughtered rabbits’ quiet cries—

Canis Minor: Procyon Boat-bailer—sky’s carpenter—wolf-eyed agate— Chased by the greater dog—swim down a southern river—Amazon’s sister—across heaven’s sea— ascension trumps declension—you and your degenerate companion—the faint white dwarf devoured by your glare—bark at Anubis— growl at Acteaon—elude Helen—you are not yet the red you will become—your father has not yet met his end—your breath is not yet bated— your dog is breathing still—what Thermopylae must lose Artemisium will gain—Maera howls— ultraviolet light makes life unlikely—pillars for a priestess—water crowfoot x-ray— coaxed out onto thin ice to dance with those from whom you stole— you’ll finally comprehend the bloody end fate meant just for you—

Scorpius: Antares Contention’s syntax, Mar’s rival, Orion’s slayer— giant fiend who stung Phaeton’s horses— heaven mandates Quetzalcoatl from those claws— blood red warrior hero— no god his guardian— no angel his own— rapine shown from Almagest through Alfonsine to Rudolphine— tables turned— a demon glows inside a scorpion’s heart— a lusty prince prepares to battle an azure dragon— his story told in gold on silk inside a cube— Indra’s carnelian’d ear hears all— saffron whispers of a severed heart— the lie Sennacherib’s astrolabe utters— lightning spreads vermillion seed for kings to harvest— Job steals Isis’ lance to skewer night in search of wisdom that passes understanding inside a ceremony none are left to execute at Argos’ ruined temple— crested basilisk or mitred serpent, cockatrice, speckled toad or smiling infant gazing at their foes before the rooster crows— less than perfect at occultation— brightest left of center— vapid misshapen variable playing tunes for a green companion— last breath of a self-luminous body shadowed by a revolution girt by fire surrounded by a cloud— what cold Ptolemy lettered inferior in brilliancy is brighter, now, to other, warmer eyes—

Auriga: Capella Brahma’s sapphire heart opens to Diana’s eyes— systole and diastole—sacrifice and artifice— torn horn thrown to heaven by a grateful god for all that bounty Melisseus’ daughters milked— charioteer’s arm-born kid for whom shepherds will die and revive—Amalthea mixes antimony into an elixir—cornucopic paint-horn rainbow bright—mother of he who makes canoes—duplicitous mistress of the game married to duel masters of the night—mint, mugwort, mandrake— hidden hawk ready to kill a kangaroo— a feathered king reaches out his hand— open Karnak’s door to enter Eleusis— Ptah’s cat’s eyes close—Aben Ezra’s open— Saint Jerome breathes easy—one war is won— glory has a crown—another war will come—

Leo: Regulus Antediluvian ultramarine burnished white— disputed indigo gone ruddy yellow become golden glow—gloomy, guardian lion’s heart occulted by the moon—a rare Venus smothers spring’s harbinger—Judah’s sickle ready to strike— westward facing couching sphinx—ancient center tilting east—Copernicus’ diminutive king, ruler of teeth, tools, tablets—heaven at his beck and call— when fire scorches lion’s hide floods will come— mortal arms can’t out row snow-melt— spread your sails wide over seething seas— riddle me another riddle—who are you? who am I? who were we? who will we be? cowardly dragon—harnessed horse—main deformed by non-negligible perturbations of a dwarf— both circled by twin companions—no one happy— none sad—in Arabia, Persia, Greece or Rome— wherever home may be—east, west, south, north— cardinal character scheme repeated—continent after continent—equinox threads equinox— solstitial colure meets crystal sphere— glory, riches, power—yours and yours alone— born beneath Persepolis’ lintel— royal star on the breast of a beast— no one’s victim— liege to none—no throne higher than your own—

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