To the Oldest Recorded Supernova
‘After two millennia / You are still here’ /
The wise Chinese
Saw your finest final light
With their own eyes.
To them you were new
And incongruously bright—
So they honored you
With a name:
Guest Star,
As if you had wandered
Into their well‐mapped skies
From some far country,
Bearing radiant news.
I wonder if they mourned
Your sudden loss
From their inky night,
Thinking you’d gone
Forever
After such a short time.
And yet—
After two millennia
You are still here—
A spirit preserved though dispersed
In a chaotic cloud of heat
And a multitude million particles
Glowing teal and red,
Streaking subzero space
With your persistent presence.
Julie Sumner is a writer who posts new poems, prayers, and devotionals on her weekly blog, windowonwords.com.
Also in this Issue
Issue 9 / November 13, 2014- Editors’ Note
- Grace in a Strip Bar
Being a friend of sinners with discernment and love. /
- Big Eaters
The cells that protect and defend us—by eating lunch. /
- The Day God Died
The most terrible and wonderful moment in history. /
- Wonder on the Web
Links to amazing stuff