Looking Back

Posted on 2021-11-02 by Bartholomew Barker

Looking Back
for the James Webb Space Telescope

Far past the dark side of the moon
Never again to feel the warmth
Of human breath or touch

I need absolute cold for my work
To stare for days unblinking
Sift light into colors

Note the birth of galaxies
And the death of stars
Ancient light rusted red

High above your chaotic atmosphere
Safe and proud— but oh so alone

Last night my Rotary Club hosted Ray Lucas, a graduate of Orange High School, who’s now a scientist with the Space Telescope Science Institute and he told us all about the James Webb Space Telescope.

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.
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9 Responses to Looking Back

  1. anitashope's avatar anitashope says:
    2021-11-02 at 18:57

    But yet not fully alone….

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2021-11-02 at 20:18

    That last couplet…. stop making me cry about inanimate objects!

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. ivor20's avatar ivor20 says:
    2021-11-02 at 20:19

    I always wonder … are there other Universes

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    • Bartholomew Barker's avatar Bartholomew Barker says:
      2021-11-02 at 20:32

      Depends on how we define Universe. If the Universe is all there is then, by definition, no. But if the Universe is just what came from the Big Bang then maybe though it’ll be really hard to detect.

      Of course, just a hundred years ago, we humans didn’t think other galaxies existed. We thought they were just nebulae within the Milky Way.

      Science progresses!

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