Convergence: Mars Over Duddo

Seven stones of Duddo circle,
only five today remain,
perched four thousand years,
atop this desolate terrain.

What prompted man
to transport them here,
remains fogged in history,
quite unlike this night so clear.

Little did they know back then,
or perhaps they did see,
mankind’s time on Earth,
comes without a guarantee.

Despite the pristine view
from this hilltop vantage point,
many forces threaten Earth,
holding it hostage at gunpoint.

Converging high overhead
is the red planet called Mars,
shining more brightly
than all the nighttime stars.

Survival may require us
to emigrate there one day,
despite being quite unsure
that it’s even a viable play.

We should have learned plenty,
in the four thousand years gone by,
instead of generating more questions,
each time we look to the sky.

Duddo stones reveal their age,
all sandstone edges worn down.
Fissured deeply by wind and rain,
cracks and crevices abound.

Wedged between the Duddo stones,
you can see the sunset fall,
reminding us the universe has order,
and another day awaits us all.

But if we do not use each day,
to better care for our home,
humans run the risk of replacement,
by a completely different genome.

Doing what we can, becoming better
stewards the short-term goal,
but we also must acknowledge,
the things beyond our control.

Our sun one day will swallow Earth
no matter how noble our endeavor,
mankind’s time on Earth has limits,
even Duddo stones don’t last forever.

Perched four thousand years,
atop this desolate terrain,
seven stones of Duddo circle,
only five today remain.

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Image Credit & Copyright: Mars Over Duddo Stone Circle, by Ged Kivlehan NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for 2021 March 23

Explanation: Why are these large stones here? One the more famous stone circles is the Duddo Five Stones of Northumberland, England. Set in the open near the top of a modest incline, a short hike across empty fields will bring you to unusual human -sized stones that are unlike anything surrounding them. The grooved, pitted, and deeply weathered surfaces of the soft sandstones are consistent with being placed about 4000 years ago — but placed for reasons now unknown. The featured image — a composite of two consecutive images taken from the same location — was captured last October under a starry sky when the Earth was passing near Mars, making the red planet unusually large and bright. Mars remains visible at sunset, although increasingly close to the horizon over the next few months.

Note: There were originally seven stones, the empty sockets of two stones being found on the western side during excavation in the 1890s.

——

Linked to dVerse Poets Pub — Poetics: The Poet as Painter Laura is hosting Poetics tonight and has challenged us to write an ekphrastic poem. For this Poetics prompt however we begin not with the visuals but with some titles of modern and contemporary abstract art:

• A Painter Without a Brush’ (Gerhard Richter)
• Broadway Boogie Woogie (Piet Mondrian))
• Convergence (Jackson Pollock) (the title I have chosen)
• Movement in Squares (Bridget Riley)
• Small Flies and Other Wings (Christine Ay Tjoe,)

Choose ONE title ONLY and write a painterly poem – in other words, paint us a picture that you imagine fits the title. Suggestions: Write as artist or observer of an abstract, surrealism or realism. Include texture and colour & engage with the visuals in mood.