Astronomy in the Seventeenth Century
Martin Elster

You sit in a kimono-like silk robe,
observe the Dragon, Hercules, the Bear
and Lyra on your multicolored globe,
and eavesdrop as they speak of an elsewhere

beyond your ken. A manual on the table
is open to the saying, “inspiration
from God,” a practicable guide to enable
a man to learn the stars and navigation.

How dare you go against the sacred scheme,
commit attempts to learn about the earth,
the nature of the suns and worlds that beam
their facts to prying scientists? A dearth

of hands-on research is what they expect.
Is that the reason you’ve no telescope?
God’s frightened His whole system could be wrecked
if you don’t wash your notions out with soap.

The globe now, in slow motion, detonates,
the constellations flung every which way.
You fall as your gray matter vacillates
between the urge to blaspheme or to pray.

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First published in The Ekphrastic Review, 24th April 2019

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Martin Elster, who never misses a beat, was for many years a percussionist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (now retired). Aside from playing and composing music, he finds contentment in long walks in the woods or the city and, most of all, writing poetry, often alluding to the creatures and plants he encounters. His career in music has influenced his fondness for writing metrical verse, which has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies in the US and abroad. His honors include Rhymezone’s poetry contest (2016) co-winner, the Thomas Gray Anniversary Poetry Competition (2014) winner, the 2022 Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest winner, the Science Fiction Poetry Association’s poetry contest (2015) third place, a Best of the Net nomination, and five Pushcart nominations. His latest collection, From Pawprints to Flight Paths: Animal Lives in Verse, is out now, from Kelsay Books.

Image: The Astronomer, by Johannes Vermeer (Netherlands) 1668.

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Astronomy in the Seventeenth Century Martin Elster

Astronomy in the Seventeenth Century
Martin Elster