DAY #53: Poems & Stories Today at 3:30pm slt

Today, the work of over a dozen Second Life Residents who have contributed compositions to the Poetry of the Planets project will be showcased in a live reading event.

Poetry & Stories of The Planets 
Sunday, May 28th  3:30-4:30pm slt
Poetry of the Planets Events - LEA 4

Two more of Aeon Woodford's Cycle of Odes today!

Ode: to Mercury 
By Aeon Woodford

With messages both sad and propitious
Mercurial Messenger —with wingéd shoes 
And hat and sun god-gifted caduceus,
In uncharted heavens dost thou cruise. 

Inventor of the lyre, Thou would’st  approve 
Of high-pitched harp and flute and glockenspiel 
Employed to praise and describe thy quantum move.
We climb the spiral staircase thy missives to unseal.

One white-hot side thy planet shows the sun;
The nether region e’er cold and dark. 
Th’incredible heat the other planets shun
Gives words thou would’st bring that we must hark.

Light side, dark side—bad news or good—
    Your heav’nly words we need have understood. 

Ode: To Saturn
By Aeon Woodford

O Saturn, thou ancient Bringer of Old Age, 
The elder father to the rest, whose reign
Was known for plenty and peace, whose sage
Rule gave us earth’s bounty with no pain.

His celebratory music—unsettling, slow—swells
A heavy march, like the long upward climb
Past windows of the soul. With brassy bells
To mark inexorably the passage of time.

The zenith—obfuscated by white fleecy haze—
Where one abruptly drops into abyss
Or otherwise may into fathoms gaze
And ponder the void in search of bliss.

Gas giant floating in the void, do the rings around

Thy girth constrain thee as we mortals are also bound?

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Poetry of the Planets will close on LEA 4 at 8am slt on Wednesday, May 31st. Some submitted works will continue to be posted here.
Thanks one and all for participating!

DAY #50: Playing Catch-Up with Neglected Neptune

Yes, the ancient creator of horses has been feeling neglected indeed, and so we give him another day in appeasement.

More wonderful odes from Aeon Woodford.

Ode: To Neptune

By Aeon Woodford

The Mystic Neptune, transcendent, gives us cause

To focus out on where his sphere does spin,

Immanent, conversely, gives us pause

To meditate on treasures deep within.

Melodic harp and strings, which culminate

In crowning exaltation—mystic choir,

A tribute to thine other worldly state

That draws us always deep—yet ever higher.

The brilliant, buoyant objects of thy state

Countless fathoms ‘neath tumultuous brine

From bubble perch we bobbl’ing contemplate

Primordial ooze, distracted from thy grand design.

If this protective shell would popping, break our stance,

Then finally we’d rejoin the great expanse.

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Poems and stories (2000w or less) can be submitted at the drop boxes on LEA 4, or by emailing them to caledoniaskytower at g mail (dot) com. And YES, feel free to illustrate your submissions!

DAY #48: Ode to Venus

We are honored to have Poetry of The Planets be one of the featured installations this week on Designing Worlds.  The whole LEA episode is creatively inspiring, and recommended viewing.  If you want to specifically see the section on this project, it begins at 51:00.
Designing Worlds Episode DW336 - LEA Installations

Another wonderful Ode by Aeon Woodford

Photo by Wildstar Beaumont, taken for DW336 - LEA Installations

Ode to Venus

By Aeon Woodford

The Lovely Venus, Bringer of Peace,  

We bring Thee myrtle, roses, doves, and swans. 

Thine acquiescent realm provides surcease

Of stress when we upon thy chaise ensconce. 

Languid harp and flute apropos thy beauty

Grace as well Thy haven adorned in opulence. 

Enshrouded like the planet named for thee,

Can this be real or trick upon our sense?

Th’enshrouded planet bidd’st us advance

And wreck beneath its thick miasmic mist.

Didst thou in dalliance with Mars so entrance

And cause him ruin in thy famous tryst?

No doubt he sought to pierce thy mystery.

No doubt thou didst enfold him utterly. 

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Poems and stories (2000w or less) can be submitted at the drop boxes on LEA 4, or by emailing them to caledoniaskytower at g mail (dot) com. And YES, feel free to illustrate your submissions!

DAY #46 - A Poetic Bonanza!

Wow!  There has been a lot of composing going on at LEA 4 in the past few days.  Thank you one and all!  Remember, get your work submitted in the next few days to have it be considered for presentation with the Poems & Stories of the Planets on May 28th!

Aeon Woodford has written a series of odes, each as wonderful as its predecessor.  I'll feature them over several days.

The ode is one of the classic forms of poetry.  To learn more about the ode as a form ( and be linked to several great examples), visit the Poetry Foundation, who provide terrific glossary information on poems and poetry.

Ode: to Jupiter

By Aeon Woodford

Sanguine Bringer of Jollity, King of gods, 

Jupiter, thou deity beyond all praising! 

So, toward Olympus we’d transcend the sod

That on thy visage we’d then be gazing.

Cascading pastel ribbons like colored glass,

Translucent veils concealing and revealing—

Joined with waltzing strings and urban brass—

Assure us in the presence we’ll be kneeling.

Up the winding stairs we climb to chance

To meet the one who brings the Jollity.

A festive dais where we may drink and dance

And join the ruler of all polity.

Then Danae, Leda, and others who met him we recall—

And unobtrusively we tip-toe from the hall. 

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Poems and stories (2000w or less) can be submitted at the drop boxes on LEA 4, or by emailing them to caledoniaskytower at g mail (dot) com. And YES, feel free to illustrate your submissions!