The Glorious Sight Of The Horsehead Nebula Poem by Margaret Alice

Did you see the beautiful photographs
of the Pleiades? Seven bright stars easily
discernable while several smaller ones
are also faintly visible, all enclosed
within the remaining dust and gas
of the life-giving love of the star-
bearing nebulae – shown in white
and blue space photography…

Then, oh joy, the glorious sight of
the Horsehead Nebula, a silhouette
of – me thinks – a sea-horse outlined
against a warm background of red
glowing gas with a bright, shiny
sphere in the foreground, Alnitak –
a star in Orion’s belt – while sad,
dark nebulae fill the rest of the
photograph,

A bright dot of reflected light
shows the way to keep hope
alive – at the top of the picture
a white-blue star as found near the
southern end of Orion’s belt –

The book lies open next to me
while I struggle with an unwilling
e-mail migratory system and
sending out invitations in
eleven official
languages…