<div class = "block"><img src = "cosmos\graphics\stars.gif" style = "float:right;"/><h1>Cosmos</h1><h2>8 poems about space by Chris Godber</h2><p>The 'Cosmos' poems are a series of poems I wrote in 2012 on the theme of space travel, exploration and my feelings about how we as human beings relate to the stars.<br/>The poems were written to be simple and to the point while retaining the necessary sense of the mystical that must I feel mark any good poem about the celestial world above.</p><p><strong>Chris Godber</strong></p><h2>Instructions</h2><p>Read each poem by clicking it's title below.</br>Background information and context for each poem can be found by clicking the <strong>'Info and Background'</strong>links on each page.</br>Some of the poems also feature embedded youtube videos which relate to the poem, these are marked <strong>'VIDEO'.</strong></p><h1>Poems</h1><h3>1: [[A Poem for Future Cosmonauts]]</h3><h3>2: [[The Sacred Stars]]</h3><h3>3: [[Explore not conquer]]</h3><h3>4: [[One Giant Leap]]</h3><h3>5: [[Cosmic Haiku]]</h3><h3>6: [[Eclipse]]</h3><h3>7: [[Dr Noir]]</h3><h3>8: [[Five Step Sun Program]]</h3><p>Background Music is <strong>'Third Mind from the Sun'</strong> from my album Clockwork Hearts which you can Purchase <a href ="http://brokengod.bandcamp.com/album/clockwork-hearts">HERE</a>
<p>Let me know what you think of Cosmos at<strong> email:</strong> chrispgodber@gmail.com</p></div><div class ="block">
<h1>A Poem for Future Cosmonauts</h1>
Yuri Gagarin - red superstar,
cosmonaut who went way up far,
upwards above, viewed earth from space,
how did he feel? Did he feel fear?
Just one man, alone and displaced.
Encased in metal in the stars above
weightless and floating in mechanical hub.
Technology takes us there, man meets the void,
our birthplace, the final resting abode
on the day it is over, when all goes cold.
That red pioneers a hero to all,
took baby steps to space with great aplomb,
a walk which will one day turn into a run
Never forget him, he risked the fall,
that pioneer, that superstar, that cosmonaut man
<ul><li>[[1: Info and Background]]</li><li>[[1: VIDEO - Gagarin Interview]]</li>
<li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class ="block"><h1>The Sacred Stars</h1>
In the darkness of enduring night, the blazing stars light
our souls with a fire that burns, a desire that grows
to organise the mystery, to honour the majesty
of the cosmos, a billion suns explode, how
wonderful, when they die they create as
nebulae new life, and we too are birthed from them.
The atoms within that make up the mass of us,
this conclusive beauty, that the splendid stars that fell
samurai style to bring light to eyes, voice to voice boxes.
Honouring the cosmos with worship, lovers stare above
embraced in starry night loving hugs, remembered
birthing place,burning,blazing,sensual vistas of light
and life and love.
In life all is a cycle, the stars born and die, we are born and die
the microcosm and macrocosm, beautiful universe lives within
us, the flaming solar winds of the sacred human spirit rise
then fall as ash from burning flame.
Enjoy the cosmos, enjoy yourselves, the gift of life
is as sacred as the stars, and the human spirit that
sprung from them.<ul><li>[[2: Info and Background]]</li><li>[[2: VIDEO - Pale Blue Dot]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class ="block">
<h1>Explore, not Conquer</h1>
Space is the final frontier
that sublime darkness,
that which envelopes,
and gave birth to a million dreams
of man, to lie in the breast of
the serenity of the cosmos.
It cannot be conquered
How can you bottle
up miracles?
It’s there to be explored
a higher calling
you cannot hide behind
mere barriers in space
Set aside your worldly concerns
for tomorrow we blast off
and holding hands as we
ascend to the stars
scream holiness, holiness
as embraced by deep night and dark stars,
we grow as seeds.
<ul><li>[[3: Info and Background]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class ="block"><h1>One Giant Leap</h1>
His foot touched the ground
light gravity, one small step
and leaping out he found
his center of gravity, declared
one giant leap for mankind – bound
next to bounce, up and down, up and down.</p>
<p>Planted the flag, it marked their territory
so all knew the essence of their victory
and breaking membrane of atmosphere
returned to ground, victorious and proud.
smiles wider than the moon.
That was 69 and now lying in bed, gasping
half dead, looked out of window at the moon
recalled the memory, embraced death, rasping
he let go, took one deep dive, one giant leap
let go of breath
now a legends dead
now a legends dead<
dead
dead
dreams died with him too.<ul><li>[[4: Info and Background]]</li>
<li>[[4: VIDEO - Reading of One Giant Leap]]<li>[[4: VIDEO - One Small Step for Man]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div>
<div class ="block">
<h1>Cosmic Haiku</h1>
Suns explode spit out
the building blocks of mankind-
solar sacrifice
Gravity acts on
all solar objects in space -
balance of the earth
Man looks at the stars
admires their sublime beauty -
memory of birth
Black hole swallows whole -
stars meet the oblivion
greet death as all do
<ul><li>[[5: Info and Background]]</li><li><a href ="http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem">How to write a Haiku (External Link)</a></li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class = "block">
<h1>Eclipse</h1><div id = "circle"><div style = "margin:3px;">
<p class = "eclipseb">
Mysterious solar disc
attends the sky.
resplendent black dot</p><h1 class ="eclipse">Darkness</h1>
<p class = "eclipseb">Where once light resided,
The absence is marked in human mind
the miracle of the cosmos
giving birth to
the negative.</p>
</div>
</div><ul><li>[[6: Info and Background]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul>
<div class ="block"><h1>Dr Noir</h1>
The skulking beast who keeps my eyes awake at night:
Doctor Noir in his ancient throne surrounded
by wires that criss-cross the stars
to solar connection
observes the heaviness of eyelids on cusp of sleep
stares into my soul with some deep gravity that
even I dare not comprehend or try and understand
no blinking here, too wide inside
a soul that tears at the fabric of reality
chokes at the walls of sanity
stops me in my stutter steps
and screams unholy melancholy
as braindead and cold flesh rips though his cold, logical
husk of a brain.
<ul><li>[[7: Info and Background]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul>
</div><div class ="block">
<h1>Five step sun program</h1>
<strong>I. Witnesses</strong>
In the lexicon of our modern machine society
we sat, myself and I and the female eye
gazing into virtual mirrors above the binary trapdoor;
<strong>II. A Shame (The Witch Medusa)</strong>
We waned to connect eyes and minds and star/star genital baseness
but in this brief human zoo, witnessed unkempt creatures baring
teeth in political power hierarchies
screeching of potential violent outbursts of nuclear powers
– the splitting of atoms and hearts
cocks, the atom mother laughing wildly
the insane witch, broken forth from walls of white asylum
beating the tune of meshuggah beyond the borders, over the hill.
Hag Moses - screaming destruction as splitting hairs Norse god
intent on the rape and the pillage – role reversal nucleus.
We are finding new and novel ways to spit and rip the face of god
who is in flesh the bleeding christ
birthed forth from the womb of Medusa -
crucifix bears witness to scars of womenkind's
bearing and we are so proud.
Of what?
- machine cathedral feeding children in some sorrowful horror
some test tube vial fetuses , as man wallow in victory, in melancholy
truly
We never embrace
shocked sharp from the rip, the tips of the iceberg
oh sexy, loving Medusa mother,
oh holy corpse of divinity ,
smoke em up this world is for the living.
Smoke smoke up your nuclear atoms
splinter the realities and merge with unreal ambiguities
<strong>III. Ambiguity</strong>
We bear witness to the holy hermaphrodite star fucker world eater
shiva sex bitch whip em up
swallowing own cock / clit with delight of own taste
transcending and destroying
till only love remained in sight
one small red light blinking in a room
of blinding black light,
a room of subconscious fairytale.
A crowded empty prison,
outstanding self sacrifice bursting forth from chest –
the heart is a living organ
feed it to your children the wisdom of ages old –
love the breast milk that gushes forth from
eternal mother, wife, sister, fuckbuddy
and grandmother
and for the sake of the so called living god
don't judge,
at least not too harshly.
<strong>IIII. Judgement</strong>
Man should think less
man should kiss more
man should kill less
man should explore
Man should seek to climb ladders
build bridges
never build gods in their own image
as he has done for so very long
<strong>IIIII. Final cry</strong>
God was never here in sprit or in flesh
aim your cunts away from this mystic vision
and aim them towards the sun
aim your cocks final jizz tastic spazz towards the nuclear reaction
of solar dynamnism
and love, love, love as the neverending stars nebulae -
make love until your organic gears
are worn from the grinding
<ul><li>[[8: VIDEO - Reading of Five Step Sun Program]]</li><li>[[8: Info and Background]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div>
<div class ="block"><img src ="cosmos/graphics/yuri.jpg" width ="300" class="picright"><p>On 12 April 1961 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space when he orbited the Earth once during a 108 minute flight.</p><p>In 1960 Gagarin, a fighter pilot, was shortlisted for the Vostok 1 programme, which built on the success of Sputnik 1 just three years earlier. German Titov was Gagarin's closest rival for selection - both men tried to impress space programme director Sergei Korolev.</p><p>Gagarin became an instant worldwide celebrity and visited several countries including Britain in 1961. However, he was never to emulate his success and died in a military training flight on 27 March 1968, aged 34.</p><p><strong>Source:<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/astronauts/yuri_gagarin">BBC Science</a></strong><ul><li>1:[[A Poem for Future Cosmonauts]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class ="block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MzzBr65ZFwM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><ul><li>1:[[A Poem for Future Cosmonauts]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class ="block"><img src ="cosmos/graphics/the sacred stars.jpg" width ="300" class="picright"><p>My aim with this poem was to create a lyrical poem about the universe, and I purposefully used a lot of grand language and expressions.</p>
<p>I want this poem to express the grandeur and power of the universe as well as linking these grand themes to more humane themes of connectivity and meaning as we relate to it.</p><ul><li>[[The Sacred Stars]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul>
</div><div class ="block"><p>This poem is written as plea to humanity - a plea to transcend our monkey brain and aspire to a higher state of conciousness, that when we do develop the technology for interstellar travel we do not cling to the same limiting ideas of territory and tribe - and instead use our knowledge and achievements to build a better universe and existence for us all.</p><ul><li>3:[[Explore not conquer]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class = "block">
<p>A poem in honour and dedication to the first man to ever walk on the moon...</p>
<p>Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. He was an astronaut. He flew on two space missions. One was Apollo 11. That mission landed on the moon. He was also an engineer, a pilot and a college professor.
</p>
<p><strong>Source:<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/who-was-neil-armstrong-k4.html">NASA</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>4:[[One Giant Leap]]</li>
<li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li>
</ul>
</div><div class ="block"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z9WDsgCIroE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><ul><li>4:[[One Giant Leap]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class = "block">
<p>4 Haiku about space</p><ul><li>5:[[Cosmic Haiku]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class = "block"><h1>Concrete Poetry</h1>
<img src = "cosmos/graphics/3-schwitters concrete.jpg" class ="picright" />
Concrete or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on.
It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has evolved to have distinct meaning of its own, but which shares the distinction of being poetry in which the visual elements are as important as the text.
<strong>Source:</strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_poetry">Wikipedia</a></p>
<ul><li>6:[[Eclipse]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class = "block"><p>A nightmare, an imagined vision of the eyes of a dying God</p><ul><li>7:[[Dr Noir]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div>
<div class ="block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XH7ZRF6zNoc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><ul><li>2:[[The Sacred Stars]]</li>
<li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class ="block">A strange and ambitious poem. Like some of the best poems I don't really know where this vivid poem came from.
It is divided into 5 parts - which relate metaphorically and symbolically to each other. I could explain what I was thinking about with each stanza but I prefer to leave it open to interpretation, and I think the poem demands that too.
<ul><li>[[Five Step Sun Program]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul>
</div><div class ="block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u70B-UUiQx4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><ul><li>8:[[Five Step Sun Program]]</li><li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li></ul></div><div class ="block">
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l40r1aI0aKM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<ul>
<li>4:[[One Giant Leap]]</li>
<li>[[Cosmos by Chris Godber]]</li>
</ul>
</div>