Thanks to Michelle from Today’s Little Ditty for hosting today’s Poetry Friday
Iphigene here.
Looking for Sci-Fi related poetry can be difficult but luckily finding poems that talk about the heavenly constellations isn’t too difficult. Today, I once again stretched the possibilities within our reading theme and share another poem by a local poet. Our contribution today was written by Neal Imperial. The poet is also a career diplomat. After a long stint as Consult General of the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, he has been reassigned to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Prior to his diplomatic career, he was a teacher at the Ateneo de Manila University. This poem is from his poetry collection: Silver Fish, Hook of Moon.
THE MOON STARES
The moon stares
like an orphan
on the sill:
A blot of light
in the blight
of air.
How far it bleeds
from the clutch
of my stare,
How near
the distance
to my heart.
Through the same screen now dry
with stardust, the embers of fireflies,
I gaze at birds, coal-blind, clench
their wings and fall
like stones in the black wind
This is all
the stitch of time,
the sameness of a room
reminds:
I am father
of my past, its progeny
of grief.
Gathering Books 
This poem gave me time to rethink the moon as it STARES at us. The line, “like an orphan,” got me to think even more deeply. Thank you for sharing a piece from across the seas.
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Its an interesting perspective, often we talk about the moon as we stare at it, but rarely when it stares out our sills like an orphan.
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Love “the clutch of my stare.” This is the kind of poem you can read over and over and find something new and remarkable each time. Thanks for sharing!
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I completely agree Michelle.
I’m glad you enjoyed this poem.
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I just LOVE those first three lines!
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I’m glad you do Tara. 🙂
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How near/the distance/to my heart — sigh.
You might like to look at these sci fi poetry resources: http://sfpoetry.com/links.html
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Those lines are both romantic and nostalgic.
Thanks for the resource Tabatha. 🙂
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It always amazes me that there are still fresh new ways to write about the moon!
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That’s true.
This was quite a fresh perspective.
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“A blot of light/in the blight/of air.” I swoon for this moon..poem, Iphagene. =)
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I’m glad you do Bridget.
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I also love that line: a blot of light in the blight of air.” So musical, and so full of moon!
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Great poem! 😀
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Sir,
Thank you for posting my poem on your site. I never intended it as a poem for science fiction readers but I guess a poem acquires its own life and meaning once published. I appreciate all the positive comments.
Just a small note: the fifth to the last line should include the article “a” and should read “the sameness of a room reminds.”
With every good wish,
Neal Imperial
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Hi,
I am dumbfounded that the poet I featured left a comment. As to the science fiction, trust me, I am quite aware your poem is far far from being scifi. I noted in this post that i was stretching the definition and was allowed by the site’s ‘editor’ to include poetry about celestial bodies, hence your poem.
I try as much as possible to feature Filipino poets when posting poetry for the Poetry Friday Meme and it is my pleasure to always be able to bring to the world even in the tiniest of ways Filipino poetry. I am glad you found our site and I appreciate the time you took to leave us a comment.
I edited the line you pointed out.
Thanks again.
Iphigene
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