| home page | list of works |
|
Islands trapped in a sea of gloom Dark, sparks in space, trace their fate Like specks of dust in an empty room, Through time and place and ever wait. Wait for a sound to pierce the waste And wake life's stilled eternity; Wait to receive the promised grace To break silence's majesty. In the distance silence calling; Void surrounds the stars spawning Strife. No god will take the blame. Somewhere a world begins to turn, Reflects the spears of solar light, Churns blood and bone, its surface burns, Once dormant dark, now brimstone bright. Hidden by clouds, the waters swell To cool the angry, ashen globe Aged by the chaos of the wakening spell; Through every wrinkle ichor flows. In the distance silence calling; Void surrounds the stars spawning Strife. No god will take the blame. Groping, strange chance breeds moving forms, Creates, destroys, as needs dictate; 'Til on the surface creatures swarm, Worlds within worlds, each with their place. Slowly, the course of life takes shape, Gleans intellect, sophisticates, Charters the straits of no escape, Sets sail towards oblivion's gates. In the distance silence calling; Void surrounds the stars spawning Strife. No god will take the blame. Islands trapped in a sea of gloom Dark, sparks in space, trace their fate Like spectral ships in an empty doom, Through time and place, and wait . . . and wait . . . . |
| (1974) |
 composite by Stephen Alsford adapting line drawings by Pearson Scott Foresman and starscape by NASA, ESA, A. Riess (STScI and JHU), D. Jones and S. Rodney (JHU), S. Faber (University of California, Santa Cruz), H. Ferguson (STScI), and the CANDELS team |
| Created: November 17, 2014. | © Stephen Alsford |