VIVIEN JONES has two poetry collections and two short story collections in print, numerous inclusions in national and international anthologies, and has had work broadcast on Radio Scotland and Radio 4. She is one of three editors of Southlight literary magazine. She also writes award-winning plays and short stories. She has long been a mainstay of creative writing in the region and has done invaluable work in encouraging others. Found out more on Vivien’s website: www.vivienjones.info.
Here's Vivien in the rural south west contemplating the theatre of the infinite from a front row seat while her metropolitan mate gasps in astonishment from the sidelines. Does being simultaneously so close to the land and so close to the spectacle of the universe make us better poets down here? Seems so.
Galloway Dark
by Vivien Jones
On this night, out of doors
in this small village,
no street lights,
no moonlight, no clouds.
Just the hum of the universe
The blue and purple velvet
sky, perforated with a spray
of tiny lights, not tiny
but far off beyond imagination.
in the hum of the universe.
The nearest crowded stripe of stars,
across the Milky Way,
gathered close, not close
but clamorous beyond hearing,
in the distant din of the universe,
Constellations learnt in schooldays,
The Plough, The Pole Star,
Orion, slain by his beloved Diana,
but placed in the endless sky
as penance, in the court of the universe,
A friend from the blur of the city sky,
neck aching with looking,
turns to me, shakes her head, speechless,
not speechless, but lacking mere words
to describe the spectacle of the universe.
On this night, all through the night,
the sky rolls over,
carrying its stellar load
towards morning, soundless
in the quiet of the universe.
©Vivien Jones, March 2021
Big Bang's Star Poets series is curated by Hugh McMillan