Star Haven Observatory Poetry Page

A new graphic and title for this page, which features prose and poems about our night skies and our Universe, whom we share with many distant friends we have not yet met. The new page title reflects the name of my future observatory here in Arizona: Palominas Star Haven Observatory.

'Stars' by Sara Teasdale

'February Twilight'
by Sara Teasdale

Alone in the night
On a dark hill
With pines around me
Spicy and still,

And a heaven full of stars
Over my head,
White and topaz
And misty red;

Myriads with beating
Hearts of fire
That aeons
Cannot vex or tire;
Up the dome of heaven
Like a great hill,
I watch them marching
Stately and still,
And I know that I
Am honored to be
Witness
Of so much majesty.

I stood beside a hill
Smooth with new-laid snow,
A single star looked out
From the cold evening glow.

There was no other creature
That saw what I could see--
I stood and watched the evening star
As long as it watched me.

NIGHT IS MY COMPANION

No shadows fall where I stand,
no sounds disturb my wonderland.
The celestial dome is spinning its dance,
sweeping me up as in an avalanche.
My companion lets unfold the Universe,
the expanse of which I long to traverse.

I crest the night not knowing a dream,
but of visions far greater supreme.
The companion and I explore the deep,
to forever treasure the mysteries it keeps.
All too soon the cosmic dance is through,
and I must wait for our next rendezvous.

Doug Snyder 11-22-98

Bright Star!

Bright Star! would I were steadfast as thou art-
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like Nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priest-like task
Of pure ablution round Earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors -

No - yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
Half-passionless, and so swoon on to death.

_John Keats

Into The Seas Ahead

I cannot now stand on Titanic's bow,
to hold my love, to view together an ocean of blue.
While fate propels us into an unknown azurean sea,
who is there to watch over our journey?
I fear it is the seaman.

Nightly, my love and I ride Earth's bow,
Standing together, a view of God's infinity ahead.
While fate propels us into an unknown cosmic sea,
who is there to watch over our journey?
I hope it is the astronomer.

doug snyder

I Had No Idea....I Had No Idea
An upwards gaze towards the darkened sky
A glimse I took of stars on high.
Where might I journey to tonight,
What fabled myth will fill my sight?
I Had No Idea....I Had No Idea
An upwards gaze towards the east,
I then beheld the rising of the beast.
The star of its heart appearing like celestial fire,
What secrets can I learn before I tire?
I Had No Idea....I Had No Idea
An upwards gaze through the glass,
And now my soul allows eternity to pass.
What lies beyond, I quietly ask, this view of majestic grandeur?
And the Universe silently returns it answer,
You Have No Idea....You Have No Idea.
(D. S. - Inspired by the movie "Contact")

**Songbird**
As my hands cradle the softly feathered songbird, How I yearn for its melodic radiance to be heard. The songbird of majestic plumage now ascends into the night, Prismatic wings glistening in pale moonlight. The Nightingale, the Canary, the Oriole - Oh, such delight! Do other souls see rainbows at night, And the swirling visions of songbirds in flight?	As my eyes cradle the unshadowed hues of a night sky serene, How I yearn for its silent radiance to be seen. The songbird of majestic lore now ascends into the night, Prismatic stars glistening in pale moonlight. The Aquila, the Cygnus, the Tucana - Oh, such delight! Do other souls see rainbows at night, And the swirling visions of stars alight? (d.s. 9/23/98)

When   my    hour   has   come
let   no   teardrop   fall
and   no   darkness   hover
round   me   where   I   lie.
Let   the   vastness   call
one   who   was   its   lover..
Let   me   breath   the   sky,
and gaze unto heaven.
A.E. Poems 1919 - Thankyou, Connie!

Can You Count The Stars Tonight?

My Darling Daughter, can you count the stars tonight ?
Can you imagine a night, not so long ago, filled with starlight,
An infinity of shimmering diamonds on a meadow of velvet?
Can you close your eyes and picture a river of a million distant fireflies,
A cascade of sparkling heavenly beacons that once filled our skies?
Now that those who are without wonder or awe have taken our night,
my darling daughter, can you count the stars tonight?
Yes, Daddy. Tonight, I can see two !
(Doug Snyder - August 5, 1998)

\\ Two Beautiful Songs By ENYA //
Paint The Sky With Stars
Suddenly before my eyes Hues of indigo arise With them how my spirit sighs Paint the sky with stars Only night will ever know Why the heavens never show All the dreams there are to know Paint the sky with stars Who has paced the midnight sky? So a spirit has to fly As the heavens seem so far Now who will paint the midnight star?	Night has brought to those who sleep Only dreams they cannot keep I have legends in the deep Paint the sky with stars Who has paced the midnight sky? So a spirit has to fly As the heavens seem so far Now who will paint the midnight star? Place a name upon the night One to set your heart alight And to make the darkness bright Paint the sky with stars. (ENYA)
Anywhere Is (click on title to hear the midi- does not do justice to the original)
I walk the maze of moments but everywhere I turn to begins a new beginning but never finds a finish I walk to the horizon and there I find another it all seems so surprising and then I find that I know. You go there you're gone forever I go there I'll lose my way if we stay here we're not together Anywhere is The moon upon the ocean is swept around in motion but without ever knowing the reason for its flowing in motion on the ocean the moon still keeps on moving the waves still keep on waving and I still keep on going You go there you're gone forever I go there I'll lose my way if we stay here we're not together Anywhere is I wonder if the stars sign the life that is to be mine and would they let their light shine enough for me to follow I look up to the heavens but night has clouded over no spark of constellation No Vela no Orion	The shells upon the warm sands have taken from their own lands the echo of their story but all I hear are low sounds as pillow words are weaving and willow waves are leaving but should I be believing that I am only dreaming You go there you're gone forever I go there I'll lose my way If we stay here we're not together Anywhere is To leave the thread of all time and let it make a dark line in hopes that I can still find the way back to the moment I took the turn and turned to begin a new beginning still looking for the answer I cannot find the finish it's either this or that way it's one way or the other it should be one direction it could be on reflection the turn I have just taken the turn that I was making I might be just beginning I might be near the end.

Fear Of Fear (Phobophobia)
When very young I professed 'a fear of Everything' (pantophobia).
Now drawn to the wonders of astronomy,
I no longer have to tremble with the feelings
of a 'fear of darkness'(scotophobia) or a 'fear of stars' (siderophobia).
Yes, I am no longer considered to be 'fearful of the night' (nyctophobic) .
But oh, how my heart shrieks in terror when my
'fear of clouds' (nephelophobia) and 'fear of dawn' (eosophobia) rear their ugly heads.
Fortunately, the Sun will set tonight (but will it!?)
and I can once again come face-to-face with my 'fear of infinity' (apeirophobia),
the worst of them all.
Doug S. 9-2-98

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