Three nerd haiku

Voyager

Mankind's first object
To leave the solar system,
I hope you are found.

Maglev

Bismuth, you can cause
Things to hover by being
Diamagnetic.

Tagish Lake

Nano-diamonds
In space-grit found here on Earth
Pre-date the solar system.

First Fog of Autumn

Early one October morning,
Before my usual waking time,
Though diffuse through hard-closed drapery
The daylight differs – I look and see;
Rows of rooftops grey and hazy,
Behind them treetops almost vanished,
Islands in a misty sea,
And so the thought that there might be
One more late day of hidden summer,
Evaporates as does the fog,
Beneath autumnal rays of sunshine,
Boiled away in a few short minutes,
While I sit and muse and drink my tea.

National Poetry Day 2012

OK, it's October 4th, it's National Poetry Day and the theme is 'stars' - it's also the first NPD since I started The Ellipsiad, and the first time I've tried to write verse to a deadline on a given topic, so here goes...

Orion’s Belt

Alnitak, far triple star,
Supergiant shining blue,
Upon the great Flame Nebula,
Ultraviolet bathing hue.

Alnilam, the middle pearl,
With stellar winds contends,
A constant, bright-white anchor-point
The navigators’ friend.

Mintaka, multiple, eclipsing,
Named Arabic for ‘belt’,
A portent of good fortune,
Our predecessors felt.

Together, ‘Three Stars Mansion’,
In Chinese myths once told,
Or Weighing Beam, or Golden Grains,
Freyja’s Distaff in the cold.

Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep,
Say the Seri, Mexico,
Three Marys in Iberia,
Three Kings, Puerto Rico

Yardstick, ellwand, Peter’s Staff,
Three wise-men, each a magus,
An asterism known to all,
On the celestial equator.

A husband ill

Dressed in sweat and layered shirts,
My nose it runs, my throat it hurts,
Fuzzy-headed, steel-band brows,
Gravel-eyes, gritpaper sore,
Philtrum red, nose redder still,
Hanky-stuffed, I sneeze and cough.
Can’t stay awake, can’t lie and sleep,
Bring soup and tea – more soup and tea!
Hot stove, hot bath, then off to bed –
I have man-flu.

Three more modern hailku

Gadget

Digital compact,
Why do you often prefer
Watching the background?

Internet myth

Kurt Cobain gone and
Justin Bieber born – that’s the
Day the music died.

Connection

Broadband down again,
Company blames rain or snow,
Time to check realbook.

Ode to a deep-sea anglerfish

Doctor Who was fine for me,
I sat upon the sofa-cushions, not hid behind,
Those sea-devils never real,
But ‘Life on Earth’ was where I found
A childhood fear I knew existed,
Black with evil, glaring eyes,
Mouth of fangs downturned and bearing
Glowing lure before its gape.
Watching through my half-spead fingers,
Intrigued but still I did not dare
Until I saw how small they were,
Demon golf-balls in a case.
Phobia turned to fascination,
Books, exhibits, films, the Web,
Etsy selling plush and stained-glass
Melanocetus johnsonii.