I PREFER THE MORE ROMANTIC VIEW

 

I prefer the more romantic view

Even if it’s not scientifically right

That the stars in the nocturnal sky

Are holes in the curtain of night

THE NINE MUSES OF THE ARTS – URANIA (MUSE OF ASTRONOMY)

 

The nine muses

Daughters of Zeus

Inspiring of mortals

And nurturers of the arts

The ninth and final was,

The divine Urania,

Heavenly muse,

Was the muse of astrology

A globe in her hand

Dressed in a cloak embroidered with stars

Urania was reader of the stars

The Final Frontier

JUPITER

Gustav Holst’s
Bringer of Jollity
The mighty gas giant
Red belted Jupiter
Largest in the solar system
With its great red spot
A storm that has raged
For centuries

MERCURY

Gustav Holst’s
Winged Messenger
The lifeless silver sphere
Races around our fiery star
As fast as its name sake
The fast-flying Roman deity,
Messenger to the gods

SATURN

Gustav Holst’s
The bringer of old age
In a state of perpetual storm
Saturn the mighty gas giant
With Iconic rings of dust and ice
An image comforting and reliant

URANUS

Gustav Holst’s magician
Beautiful ice giant
Whose clouds of methane
Present a featureless disk
Of blue-green colour

NEPTUNE

Gustav Holst’s Mystic
Farthest planet from the Sun
Beautiful ice giant
Whose brilliant blue
Appearance belies
The deadly atmosphere
Of frozen methane

VENUS

Gustav Holst’s bringer of peace
Second planet from the Sun,
Earth's "sister planet"
To the ancients
The Morning Star
Or the Evening Star
Shrouded by opaque
Highly reflective
Clouds of sulphuric acid

MARS

Gustav Holst’s bringer of war
The red planet
A place of high mountains
And deep canyons
Red dust deserts
And frozen Polar Regions

PLUTO

Unknown to Gustav Holst
Pluto, the Dwarf planet
Inhabits the Kuiper belt
And is no longer the ninth planet
Of our solar system
Not even the biggest Dwaft
But Second to Eris

CERES

The frozen Dwarf planet Ceres,
The largest asteroid among the stars
Between the belted giant Jupiter
And the red planet of war Mars

AURIGA

For the Auriga constellation
Look up into the northern sky
You will find the charioteer
Between Perseus and Gemini

SATURN VI

Saturn VI
Iced water Titan
Largest Moon of Saturn
Dense Orange sphere
A planet like moon
Iced water Titan