Category: Beautiful Things

Here’s a link to information on NASA’s first photo of what the poet was referring to – the first ever photo was from 1946

https://explorer1.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/earth-from-space/

How does it make you feel ? How do you feel seeing this photograph. How do you feel being a creature on this Star of Water as referred by the poet. Indeed our star, our planet is about 70% covered in water; and coincidently our brain and heart is also about 70% … WATER

How do I feel when I see the first ever photograph of EARTH … mindblowing? or rereading the poem – yes, this. This.

All alone, glowing blue … out in the vast darkness, our star of water is …

Hushed

Star of Water rotates in laquar black darkness

no friends or family nor kin around, an isolated lonely star it is

Surprisingly, the planet earth rotates without so much as spilling any drop of its water

Striking is one photograph capturing such an image

Struck by epithany of sorts – blue star of water taking up residence, in space so isolated all alone

Compared to people in the old times who had not seen this photo, surely seeing this photograph should evoke a definitive change in our consciousness, our awareness shifts

an enlightenment, no?

but

our reaction described as nonchalant at best

Distanced just so from the sun, which apparently is why the water is retained as it swirls

spinning all the while a ball of fire at its core

such an impossible mystery

and a miracle is – this Blue Star

Memory of tremendous flood remains in our collective subconsciousnes

giving birth to the legend of Noah’s Arc

Yet if only the noble were chosen and the good selected, to survive the great flood, the current predicament of those children and grandchilden, Noah’s decendents, give doubts to the origin story

Never deviating its course from the orbit

Never once fallen off its course like a death star

embracing abundant lives full of fertility and yet

at all times a bit… lonesome

a loner is this Star of Water

humans, miniscule at a cellular level,

infinitesimal at a molecular level and yet destined to be integral to earth,

Seems no wonder, humans being lonely is stating such an obvious,

probably best not to state such an obvious truth

Noriko Ibaragi (translated by K. Tsuyama)