[A poem to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Newton's discovery of gravity]
Sir Isaac Newton is my name;
I have a certain reputation,
Philosopher of great acclaim
Amongst the proud men of this nation.
With many problems I would grapple,
Not least of which concerned an apple.
I’d often laze beneath the trees
On long and balmy summer days,
And there with friends I’d shoot the breeze,
Expound ideas in many ways.
But then in lone activity
I framed the laws of gravity.
Studying mechanics, optics,
The bible and astronomy;
Also mathematics, physics,
The natural world and alchemy,
My jealous peers, they criticised
And often I was ostracized.
But I was knighted by the Queen
And my inventions gave men hope.
Stars and planets could be seen
With my reflecting telescope –
No rainbow colours to detract.
I’ve made my mark and that’s a fact !
The London night is peppered with a thousand tiny stars
But never with the silver milky way
We've sprinkled ghostly glow-worms to make safer roads for cars
And lost the finest sights of yesterday
I'd have to move one hundred miles to see one million lights
And bask beneath the theatre of those dark departed nights
When I was young my Father worked a few weeks in Japan
And brought me a reflecting telescope
I turned my gazing skyward and saw worlds untouched by man
Which filled a childish mind with dreams and hope
But now for city children there aren't stars on winter nights
They're lost inside the overflow of closer manmade lights
Each year I'm driven farther to observe amazing scenes
Which man has seen for all his years on Earth
The time is fast approaching when we will not have the means
To show our children what the night is worth
So if you have the fortune to live far from wasteful lights
Take time to drink the beauty of your deep black star-drenched nights
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