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Poem submitted to "Cosmic Death" poetry contest, Seth Pina, sponsor, January 30, 2026.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Sator Arepo is part of the Sator Square, an ancient Latin palindrome consisting of five words: Sator, Arepo, Tenet, Opera, and Rotas. It has been interpreted in various ways, often associated with magical properties and used as a charm for healing and protection throughout history.(Source: Britannica online) It was the year two thousand eighty-five when we boarded Starship Sator Arepo. Astronauts are we, seeking adventures in the cosmic seas while looking for rogue planets beyond the Milky Way. 3... 2... 1...Liftoff! We hurled through space at the cosmic speed limit traveling light years beyond our galaxy. On day 35 it happened—a sea of stardust, then a spark, then nothing but black emptiness. We drifted aimlessly in the darkness, slowly suspecting the space we’re traveling in is of a different sort from what we thought whenever the word “space” was decked out by our fantasies back on Earth. For decades we wandered about in the inky crepuscle, our interstellar distress messages unanswered, surmising our drift was even deeper than we first believed, that knowledge is blue naiveté, determined with measured perceptivity. We now suspect that what we claim is space and glassy clarity around Arepo’s hull is not a black hole; it’s spirit, everlasting and impalpable. We have strayed into spiritual seas. I look out the cockpit window into the black nothingness. Suddenly, there is a spark. Then a sea of stardust. And the universe begins again. you may read the related science fiction story at: . poetrysoup.com/short_stories/starship_sator_arepo_13653
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