Oh for a Starry Night
A humble new collection of poetry inspired by the stars, planets and constellations, along with a healthy dose of Greek and Roman mythology. Available as an ebook and paperback.
Description
Myth, mythology and the legends of old. Stories of gods, fantastic beasts and humans. These are part of the canon of tradition and lore of the stellar constellations and heavenly bodies that make up the starry night that we see.
Experience arcane knowledge in this metaphorical pantheon where the dead gods of ages gone by are honoured poetically.
The night sky is an incredible sight. Filled with such beauty and grace, the celestial sphere is awe inspiring. This collection of poems is an attempt to capture some of that beauty and the tradition and history that have resulted in the lore that has grown up around the constellations and heavenly bodies. Heavily inspired by Greek and Roman mythology the wisdom of the ancients makes the universe in which we live a fascinating and vibrant place.
We all interact with the world around us in different ways, but this poetry is my way of sharing the connection that I feel, and the emotions that are sparked in me, by the glory of the night sky. Join me on my personal celestial adventure and the wonders of a starry night.
It should be borne in mind that there are a multitude of different myths, traditions, legends, stories and so on about each of the constellations, planets, the Gods and no one knows the true origin of a lot of the names of these. This is a fictional, poetic interpretation of some of those ideas and stories.
Excerpt:
Cancer – The Crab
Proud Hercules,
Son of Zeus born,
A dozen tasks for to complete
At Jealous Hera’s behest
To test his strength,
Courage and prowess,
To prove himself,
A worthy heir
In that second,
Charge to complete,
Battle the Hydra,
Leanon’s curse
Nine heads, regenerative,
Upon a snakes body,
Or possibly a dragons,
A truly fearsome beast
Brave Hercules battled,
The ferocious brute,
Cleaving heads,
As fast as he could
His nephew Iolas,
Seared the cuts,
Halting the growth,
Of heads anew
Bitter Hera sent a crab,
Gigantic in size,
To distract the warrior
And foil his goal
As the crab pounced,
And grabbed his foot,
Valiant Hercules,
It did crush
Severing the final,
Head absolute,
The Hydra vanquished,
Hercules victorious
Hera shamed,
Hercules honoured,
Zeus placed in the heavens,
A starry crab
