Cosmic Fingerprints

Ammonite

Just like an ammonite,
It shines a light
On history,
Unlocking the mysteries
Of what was… and is.
Living fossil, slow moving, outlasts
Displaying the past
To help us understand.
Hold old galaxies in your hand.

Carry the Fire

Carry the fire,
Keep the flame bright
Shining on new ways
To explore the night.
And when it is time
For us to move along,
We’ll pass over the torch
And let the light carry on.

KOI

We heard it described as the
Deepest
Bluest
Ocean
And it has set into motion
A series
Of queries
Of ideas questions and thoughts
And I am still being taught
In a ripple effect.
Inspiration strikes
From clear skies
Out on distant hikes
To reflections, swimming,
The excitement, brimming
Paired with analysis,
Always with joy.
Science is dreaming, is balance like koi.

Arms of Jupiter

I learned about the defiance
Of the gas giants.
The power of their gravity
Pulling danger in, and away
From us, finding safety
In the arms of Jupiter.

The way they shouted to the asteroids:
‘You won't come through, you shall not harm them,
They are not yours to strike.’

Absorbing the blows which would wipe
Us away.
We are okay
In the arms
Of Jupiter

Tall Poppy

Dreams only last for a night,
But carry you into tomorrow
When the shooting stars come flying by
it's their light we follow.
Tall Poppy, standing proud,
Reach up for the skies.
Petals raised above the crowd
Keep your head held high.

As above so below

A guiding light to let us know,
In the night or darker days,
There are pathways
Among the waves
And out in the cold of space.

Lighthouse striped in red and white,
The satellite near cosmic flight,
Both man-made and marking place,
Illuminate the mysteries we face
Through pictures pixels and beaming rays.
Above, below, humanity on display.

Lightbulb

The light bulb moment where everything collides,
Chemical clusters swimming inside
The convex glass which can no longer hide
The connections which explode in the recesses of your mind.

Mobile

Raising the future to believe they can fly
With the aerodynamics of a paper plane.
At night, when the baby starts to cry,
Set the mobile spinning once again,
Inaccurate but promising,
Celestial bodies dance and swing,
Dance above.
One day you will gaze together
And know that sharing the sky is love.

Puzzle

The pieces fall into place as we play with scenarios;
What we have observed and what we are desperate to know.
The bends of the Universe spirals, ever twisting,
But right there is a blank space and there's no use resisting,
The call to adventure,
The Call of the Unknown,
So we place all the pieces, put possibility on show.

Reaching Hands

Here we are met with reaching hands.
Some of us arrived unplanned,
Following a winding root that spanned
Decades.
Do not be afraid.

Here you are met with reaching hands.
There were many who came to demand
Explanations within the way the universe expands
Like grenades.
Do not be afraid.

Here you are met with open palms,
Camaraderie the soothing balm
So you reach out with open arms
A converted renegade.

You tell the newcomers
do not be afraid

Bees

We call them cute
And run in fear
Even when it is clear
There is no danger near.

Tiny contradictions.

It's their engineering that we mimic
Because we need
To be
Specific.

There is strength in the shapes they create,
Perfect for when we need to make
And connect
Refined
Pieces designed
To reflect

Orchestra One: Violin

The beauty
Of the melody
Exists because of harmony.

We begin
With the violin;
Can be independent, but willing to share
The spotlight,
It sings sweet and despair,
In the hands of the right
Person there was more than just flare,
It tells a story,
It lays all truths bare.

Orchestra Two: Harp

The beauty
Of the melody
Exists because of harmony.

The Harp
Can be sharp,
Can be soft,
Carries so much
Meaning across
This universe, it perfectly weaves
With the orchestra and makes me believe
There is magic
In the tragic
Of the cold,
Sharing more of secrets
In the notes unplayed, untold.

Orchestra Three: Piano

The beauty
Of the melody
Exists because of harmony.

Hands are poised.
Fingers
Linger
In bent positions
Ready to complete their mission,

To move.
Move
From the chest,
Stand with the rest.
Strike a chord
Just like a match
A spark
The world can't help
But react.

Football in Flames

It all kicks off
In collaboration
Shoot for the stars
Or a destination
Which reaches further
Than eyes can see.
Play a game
With the same
Community.
Football in flames
With the force of the blow.
Look up to the sky
Where comets glow.

Gift

Radio silence.
Adjust the settings.
You can't prepare for the gift
You don't know you're getting.
Open the file,
Double click.
The bow of the ribbon, carefully unpick.
As the present is opened, patterns in the static.

Durham Cathedral

History meets science
Meets people and prayers
Meets music, meets magic
That cannot compare.
Starlight that twists
Over archaic stone
Sermons and singing
Where bats make their home.

Birds

Draw what we hope to find in space
We start to imagine a beak or billed face
A duck or a magpie
Soaring up high
Becoming a dot, like a plane in the sky.

Balloon

It was an experiment.
Trial by fire
Or rather
By air.
Raised to the skies and discover what is there.
Took years of planning,
The white balloon inflated
After protective layers
Were planned and created.
Telescope temporarily soared
But that was a test, time for the encore.

Bottle

Once contained
A strawberry infusion
Now used to explain
Dark matter diffusion.
Light twisted
Like through water or glass.
Watch how all
The pieces pass
Through the filter
Which alters
How we can see the shape of distant galaxies.

Mountains

It's a right of passage, unwritten but expected
To travel away far from here and become more connected
With the universe around us, what can be understood
For you cannot know an engine if you do not lift the hood.

Step away from pollution, from overwhelming light and sound,
Step away from people till there's nobody around,
Climb up ancient mountains and truly see the stars
Wonder at it, marvel and enjoy how small we are.

Southern Constellations

Southern Constellations,
Desert at night
Tracking destinations
Making maps from the bright
Spots on the canvas
Painted all-colour black
With stars in his eyes,
He wandered
And never
Looked
Back.

Cup

Pour milk into black tea
And watch it swirl endlessly.
The liquids moving perfectly
Imagining it’s a brand new galaxy
Bring the cup, invite to share,
We bring the magic everywhere.

Swimming in Thailand

Swimming in Thailand
Sea turtles beneath,
Sometimes all the dry land
Linked to our feet
Keeps us weighted
Keeps our minds half asleep
But ideas generated
Come when our eyes meet
With an unaltered sky
Which are thoughts can complete
Reflections imply
What simulations repeat.

The Earth is at the center. Scratch that, we move in an ellipse around each other,
Earth & Sun.
Scratch that, the sun is in the center,
We have 9 planets in our solar system.
Scratch that, 8 planets.
Sorry Pluto, at least your moon is cool.
Mercury & Venus don't have any.
Earth has one, Mars has two,
Jupiter has 90 95 more, we're not sure,
we keep finding them, they keep hiding.
Saturn 274 + rings.
Uranus, 28 + ring.
Neptune 16.
This is a guide to our galaxy
and we will keep you updated.

Folded star

He tried
To explain it,
I didn't understand.
He took
The paper
In his hand
Folded it
Like folding lights.
Not all paper
Is in sight
But it
Exists
Away from our eye
We can
Unfold the pieces
If we try.

Graduation

No achievement could be as great
As showing a student that they can graduate.
They have the power, knowledge and skill
All that is left is confidence to instill.

Galaxy in Hand

There will be a future
We cradle it in open palms
Fingers cup to hold
A spiral galaxy.

There will be a future
Not where the water is calm
But where chaotic reactions unfold
Combining chemically.

There will be a future
No matter the alarm
Even if this world goes cold
It spins on endlessly.

Ogden

A question
An answer
A conversation
More than simply a location
It is a meeting of minds
A place to find
Possibility
And
Community.

Memento Mori

Starting as clouds, made up of dust,
Become the earth which forms this world's crust.
Energy transferred, so life can exist,
Through multiple climates, we strive and persist.
When it is time for us to combust,
Turn back into stars, we return to that dust.