Best Terra Poems
Peering beyond reach of human capacity
I revolve around the sun in a solar orbit,
Looking deep in space for origins of bygone
Going way beyond anyone has ever gone,
Exploring unknown world of astronomy
Searching light from first stars and galaxies
Traversing back in time where it all began,
Forming our universe after the Big-Bang.
Some 13.6 billion light-years my eyes reach,
Studying evolution, formation of galaxies,
Vast, colorful, mysterious shapes and sizes,
Eying origins of life and planetary systems
Probing, discovering, unfathomable infinity,
For one light-year equals six trillion miles~
A feat, only for the confidence of audacity.
I capture images spectacular to every sight,
Viewing light that is invisible to human eye
Locating nebulae, gas planets, dust clouds,
Collision of galaxies where stars are born,
Traversing back in time where it all began,
Probing galactic universe~ terra incognita.
No longer a phantasy, I am real as can be,
An eye of science and a mind of curiosity,
Intellectual tenacity and proof of ingenuity,
In acumen and wisdom of Astrophysicists,
I am the bold vision of infrared astronomy,
I am the flight vying hypnotic destination
Buoying on wings of scholarly inspiration.
Much is yet undone, for I have just begun,
Orbiting diligently until my work is done,
Until dreams become reality of my mission.
For insight into creation, I am the ray of hope~
I am the James Webb Space Telescope.
August 28, 2022
Placed 1st: This or That, Vol 13 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Title chosen: Terra Incognita
Note: NASA launched James Webb Telescope on December 25, 2021.
Images are being released starting July 12, 2022.
You can view the spectacular images at: Webb.nasa.gov
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners
European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency.
Earth playing in space.
Rolling over and over.
Sunrise, sunset, spin!
So strange this land, old and yet young.
Where is this place of tall green trees,
and grey-haired men in unknown tongue?
they must have traveled summer's breeze.
Adobe brick quonset "chalets"
mud-soaked roadways in all the blocks.
WACs and wives and waifs everyday
midst hollyhocks and four o'clocks.
Los Alamos*, this place must be.
A land of Oz 'neath bluest sky.
Where science dealt humanity
a fatal blow, then watched it die.
A perfect paradox is this.
How splendid to contrast the two--
a lovely place/a devil's kiss,
and wisdom sprinkled like the dew.
I left quite soon but still recall
the secrets hidden on each page.
The lilac mountains looming tall,
their perfume of fission and sage.
August 5, 2022
"Terra Incognita"
for This or That, Vol. 13, poetry contest
by Edward Ibeth
*Los Alamos Laboratories, New Mexico, are where the atomic bombs were
created then dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in WWII.
When both my feet don’t touch the ground
Lightheadedness proves overwhelming
Turbulent thoughts going while coming
They swirl about me round and round
Cloaked in black a moonless night
The howling dreadful spiteful wind prevails
Spellbound drags me over hills and vales
Like a ragdoll in the midst of a bullfight
Trails of lingering spirit ghouls
Hover over murky haze of mistiness
Harassing in dark gloomy cloudiness
Wrangling reaping mangled souls
Blurry visions twirl above
Creating mayhem in their path
Unleashing bold raging wrath
Till afar I think I see a dove
Fearing I’ll break into a coma
I force myself to get a grip
Catch my breath with every dip
Holding out for familiar terra firma
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
sunset mocks rice fields
soil embraced by widow weeds
life source diminished
I heard of lands both far and near
where wealth beyond tale can conceive.
With rivers deep and mountains sheer
for the brave to challenge and reave.
I heard of them and I believe
this call that moves me to explore.
I should follow my heart and weave
the path where none has gone before.
Through legends spread by foe and peer,
my head and heart do wish me leave
the comforts of my home so dear
to seek the thrills that I perceive.
The first to achieve and retrieve
power and fame I can’t ignore,
the tug on the conqueror’s sleeve,
the path where none has gone before.
I’m confident in what I hear,
stand ready with sword, shield, and greave.
No time for mortal dread nor tear.
No time to cause angst or aggrieve
the loss of friend or kin bereave.
I sail to explore a new shore
and swear on death I will not leave
the path where none has gone before.
I seek your audience and ear
to beg, my dear Prince; I implore
your blessing, funds, and ships to steer
the path where none has gone before.
"Life is either daring adventure or nothing at all."
Quote by _Helen Keller
I would like to be an adventurer,
and set sail for places terra incognita;
still uncharted, unknown, undiscovered on earth,
in remote corners of the world !
It would be amazing to find places,
and be the first to walk the land;
areas untouched, mysterious, maybe forbidden,
perhaps an unmapped lost city !
Be the first to roam a forest jungle,
wild, quite strange and dangerous;
unexplored until my discovery or so I believe,
oh, to find a paradise pristine !
_____________________
August 07, 2022
Poetry/Verse/Terra Incognita
Copyright Protected, ID 08-147-562-07
All Rights Reserved, 2022, Constance La France
Theme chosen - Terra Incognita
Written for the Standard contest, This or That, Vol. 13
sponsor, Edward Ibeh, Judged 09/04/2022
Third Place
War and Peace collide in vain
Mankind will suffer anguish and pain
As the earth warms up through ignorance and greed
One day we'll find it hard to feed
In case you'd forgotton we're all the same race
If not in religion but surely in faith
Father daughter son and mother
Why do we find it so hard to love one another
This poem will not stop the pain
But maybe slow the wind of change
How many times have you cried
When on the news more men have died
Jesus and Mohammed said "i am the light"
Why on earth do we take their name in fight
Strip away the colour of skin
You'll find we all own a skeleton within
Remember this: There will come a day when there will be no more
the circle begins.... we're back to war
One day we all will finally depart
Take your body but leave your heart
A final thought as you go about your lives
Try to see the world through each others eyes
Be kind and caring to one another
We've got this planet........ we have no other
Inspirered by a Rose
my attempt at Old English
Terra Firma
If heaven ræste on thy brow
and Hell beneath thy feet
Thus life would be more crowded Now,
Thou has taken seat
I didn’t listen to his words
Even though, in my heart, I heard
When he told me I was a hypocrite
I found myself praying for God’s intervention
For the assurance that I wasn’t being
A hypocrite – a fraud, a phony
I wasn’t someone who was just pretending
To love the Savior, my whole world
The answer to my every anxiousness
The reason for every hope I had ever had
I didn’t listen to him when he said
You’re a hypocrite – You’re not saved
But I found myself searching my heart
Turning over each thought, every motive
All the reasons I had for not giving into
The things he wanted – his desires, his hunger
The greed that was something he flaunted
Even though he accused me, in all truth
It had been his continual urgency for more – more
Urging me to go above and beyond my power
That caused me to disregard his final demands
I didn’t listen to him or his accusations
I soon found my sympathy for him wavering…
Although I had always been one of his supporters
I found myself – terra incognita now
Unable or unwilling to let go of my plans
To give in to his claims, his pressure, his petitions
I realized, finally, that his complaints, his blaming
Had brought me to the rude awakening…
It was not me at all – He was the double-dealer
Of his allegations… his finger pointing came full circle
To the man he saw in the mirror, in his reflection!
This or That, Vol 13 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
Terra Incognita
August 8, 2022
This chain of rusted iron and fallen tears is strung together,
forged of poorly tempered links,
cast into the water untimely,
the choices called to account.
There is no jury for decision,
no panel for propriety or loyalty,
and that metal is riddled with holes throughout,
holes that hold steady between the weak iron,
holes which time will fade.
Oxidation slowly burns away this tepid and unfocused purpose,
obliterating importance and leaving nothing but red, or green dust.
A corpse of what poor choices that were made,
left for the isotopes to feed on,
which they do.
Where the rock is king.
And the earth beneath it all is always laughing,
laughing at our fear of silicate embrace,
the love we have for our belligerant air;
So here we burn together,
here we rust and wilt away, petals to the barren ground.
we blow away...
Where the rock is king.
a dream as years go by,
water clock drip ticks,
another revolution,
minutes flown away,
hearts fluttered wide,
sepia childhood silhouetted,
a grip lost in snap-the-whip,
and glimpsing restless spirits,
crowding heaven’s gate,
gold plated, iron bound,
others just waiting,
familiar indistinct,
while clouds like knotted cotton,
frame a high blue portico above,
a formless basilica,
slow vision of his spirit,
becomes a shining arrow knock’d,
loosed at that far off shore,
flown true, and gone,
as the wind cries a pure tone,
on that played out jazz piano,
coda to another’s life,
like a tragic symphony,
somehow filled with hope,
his last music…
(I miss it so).
Far beyond the reaches of the Milky Way
A galaxy exists which remains unnamed
Unseen by human eye or large telescope,
It is, to my knowledge, not yet defamed.
Pure and undefiled, suitable for living
In a Goldilocks zone yet to be uncovered
Fresh clean air, and an abundance of water,
Awaiting its coordinates to be discovered.
A terra incognita resembling heaven
Is just beyond the reach of our technology
But, we are advancing in our capability
To comprehend its complicated cosmology.
Someday, it promises a necessary respite
A new home for humanity in far outer space
When we’ve destroyed our home on earth
We can start ruining a new, pristine place!
SECOND PLACE WINNER
Written August 3, 2022
Submitted to "This or That, Vol. 13" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Edward Ibeh
*Image of Pelosi Leaves Taipei by BBC.
Terra Incognita
Diurnal moments margin in my head,
As metamorphosis pirouettes hands,
Nightmarish recall exit none be said,
An armistice mosey in of spilt sands.
Logjam beliefs wane gains, prosperity,
Erring hand fingered an island nation,
Right foresees windfall, voters clarity,
Left wins Red China, lost the election.
Past oversights also recent letdowns,
Amiss twentieth, twenty-first embed,
Ruse an angle nefarious look rounds,
Dame be a torpedo full speed ahead!
It is a jigsaw board, a puzzling face,
An instance period to bygone years,
A world in awe as one alters a pace,
A nation benign oddity brew peers.
2022 August 25
*2nd Place*
This or That, Vol 13
~~Edward Ibeh: Judged 2022 September 04
Terra Incognita
The emerald forest uniquely so mystique,
as far as I can see beyond the horizon,
shrouded by surreal stillness it spreads,
wraps me as I amble in rippling breeze.
Its charming cadence enthralls
my essence suffused with rhapsody.
As I walk on the fading forest path
around the shadows of ancient trees,
the clumps of desiccated amber leaves,
falling from dry boughs at the end of their time,
my footsteps crumple to make the music
for my enchanted journey unfinished within.
At sunset hour out of the forest I now saunter
toward the enigmatic realm of obscurity,
concealed in the serene sanctum of eternity.
Soaking the final flash of twilight splendor,
I walk the last mile on the time-track of life
to go to terra incognita as a forlorn traveler.
________________
August 14, 2022
Title chosen : Terra Incognita
Contest : This Or That, Vol 13
Sponsored by : Edward Ibeh