Legacy of Light
One by one, extinguished stars return
to take their places in the fallen night;
So long defunct, yet they faintly burn
_in constellated webs of light.
Imploded vanishings of dust and gas,
from cold abysses of the infinite
broadcasting their ghostly lives across
_appropriated years of light;
illusions destined to impermanence,
black absences that linger on in sight,
while disinheriting the firmament
_bequeath a legacy of light.
One by one, old poets’ voices fail;
seers grow blind, with so much yet to write.
But still their visions glimmer through a veil
_as points of intellectual light
that reach from pen to eye across the years
of intervening literary night.
For thoughts, once uttered, do not disappear;
_and words are messengers of light.
Martin Briggs lives in Suffolk, England. He only began writing in earnest after retiring from a career in public administration, since when he has been published in various publications on both sides of the Atlantic.
Martin, what a beautiful way to express the written visions of poets with “literary thoughts, once uttered, do not disappear!”
Martin, your connecting poetic voices to the endless stars is very unique, and very thought-provoking.
A great metaphor for artistic afterlife: poets vanish, but their words continue traveling, undimmed by time.
What a fine last line! “Words are messengers of light.” So true so many times in my own life.
> thoughts, once uttered, do not disappear;
_and words are messengers of light.
Beautiful Martin,
and timely for me as I have been finding huge comfort in audio versions of some of C.S Lewis’s books..
and print editions of some Tolkien and G.K Chesterton’s wonderful short essays; “Tremendous Trifles”
These essays, “Leaf by Niggle” ,”The Narnia Chronicles”, “The Cosmic Trilogy” and “The Screwtape Letters ”
are beacons which help us better see a dark world. As though Lewis , Tolkien and Chesterton has time travelled especially to give us comfort in this dark age.
warmest regards,
Karen
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A wonderful analogy, Martin. The lines ‘broadcasting their ghostly lives across / appropriated years of light’ really resonated. It really is a quite fantastical notion that so many of the stars and galaxies we see are long dead, but their light is still bright from our miniscule perch in the universe.
Thanks for the read.
The science of astronomy expands to contemplation of cosmology in your splendid poem, Martin. Not to mention the earthly undertones of inheritance, all connected by operations of law not fully known. The work is rich and satisfying.