Wednesday Poem

The Elusive Jellyfish Nebula
.

At the aquarium, the jellyfish are lit

from below—blue and pink hues

flash in time with the ebb

and flow of visitors come to see

what the depth of an ocean looks like. Jellyfish nebula

The true sea is not so bright, though,

nor so clear—

Infinity reaches down from space

to the center of our waters

where jellyfish live in truth,

countless billions upon billions

of dead stars and living organisms

recycled into dust upon dust.

Near bright star Eta Geminorum,

the Jellyfish Nebula emits faint strands

of light, the remnants of a supernova gone

rogue, leaving only a neutron star to see

how the universe changes over time.

It is too far away, too large

to imagine what it would feel

like to touch those strands,

though the ones in the water sting

brilliantly.

We imagine we know why jellyfish

are so fragile, dying easily or not at all,

but they say even stars die. We have faith

that’s true. When the aquarium closes,

the lights go out.

We’ll be home,
.
.
by Christine Klocek-Lim
from Dark Matter
Aldrich Press

Dark matter

A new book, available at Amazon