From 'A Responsibility to Awe' by Rebecca Elson.

[cucumbersarnies.livejournal.com]

Antidotes to the fear of death

Sometimes as an antidote
To fear of death,
I eat the stars.

Those nights, lying on my back,
I suck them from the quenching dark
Till they are all, all inside me,
Pepper hot and sharp.

Sometimes, instead, I stir myself
Into a universe still young,
Still warm as blood:

No outer space, just space,
The light of all the not yet stars
Drifting like a bright mist,
And all of us, and everything
Already there
But unconstrained by form.

And sometimes it’s enough
To lie down here on earth
Beside our long ancestral bones:

To walk across the cobble fields
Of our discarded skulls,
Each a treasure, like a chrysalis,
Thinking: whatever left these husks
Flew off on bright wings.

Comments

[ronniekinns.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that was a wonderful poem. Thanks for sharing!

[cucumbersarnies.livejournal.com]

thank you- a friend introduced me to it and now i am trying to get as many people to hear about this poet as possible. she really is wonderful.

[threeandnine.livejournal.com]

That is incredible! Thanks for posting it.

[cucumbersarnies.livejournal.com]

is that a galaxy in your icon? if it is then it is very appropriate. the woman who wrote this poem was an astronomy professor.

[threeandnine.livejournal.com]

It sure is--wow! I can see how studying the skies can lead one to the search for answers--and I love it when science and poetry merge.

Your icons are great, BTW.

I am posting this poem in my journal and crediting you so that my other friends may enjoy it, if you don't mind.

[cucumbersarnies.livejournal.com]

i didn't make any of the icons- that was the very talented saava. equally there is no need to credit me for the poem- i didn't write it though i wish i had.

if you buy the book 'A Responsiblity to Awe' that this poem comes from, then there is a short essay in the back about Elizabeth's life that explains her interest in both poetry and science. i really recommend searching the book out.

[threeandnine.livejournal.com]

I am definitely going to be getting that book. She sounds very interesting. Thanks so much for sharing all of this.