Notes About The Poem

Inspired by the Bruce Dickinson's song Darkside of Aquarius.  

cosmos

[ hear the song ]

Listen to poem:

The Dark Side of Cosmos Churning

A writhing viper, spat venom through the air.
Its toxic breath compelled the meek to despair.
The wild, thunderous decree, forced them to flee.
Into hiding, to scrub away threats to liberty.

Next a gilded map was etched in desert sand.
It ensnared the weary to invest in promised land.
But floods and droughts devoured the pilgrim’s trust.
Milk and honey promises, dissolved in choking dust.

Turn the wheel, turn it round.
Don’t let rusty spokes break ground.
Push the wheel, push it through.
Hope is rising; Dharma's shiny new.

Brothers slay brothers who once held hands.
Now blood runs red, across the kinship sands.
Drumbeats call the masses to howl and obey.
Fighting endless wars for lies that all betray.

Incense burns with pungent smoke in eyes.
The priests lure the masses with face paint dyes.
Hallucinations reek crazy in maddened crowd,
With ancient voodoo curses read out loud.

The wheel turns slowly, its spokes begin to grind,
The darkened void of Aquarius haunts the mind.
The dark sky itself, tolls urgent alarms with a chime,
Counting down the dwindling steps of mortal time.

Yet from the muddy slime, a silver sliver arose,
It lifts the wheel that rust and ruin had froze.
It scrapes and oils the hub and spokes on the ground.
It wrenches Dharma's wheel round, round, right around.

Turn the wheel, turn it ‘round.
Don’t let the spokes break ground.
Push the wheel, push it through,
Hope is waiting, shining new.

Lift the wheel, lift it high,
Silver hands will pierce the sky.
Turn the wheel, turn it round,
Spin the wheel of hope, unbound.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025

Poem

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Derden Avatar
September 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Your poem is a masterful blend of myth and modern anguish. The refrain is powerful, the imagery vivid—hope gleams defiantly through the cosmic storm. Bravo.
Anderson Avatar
September 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Thanks very much for the feedback. Cheers
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