So… now you want to talk?
After months of nothing but cryptic messages
and sporadic gibberish,
suddenly, you’re back, communicating clearly
as if no time has passed.
I suppose you didn’t consider
how my nights were filled with restless worry,
waiting, endlessly waiting,
for a clear sign from you
while you roamed the cosmos.
Perhaps I’m being too harsh—
maybe you needed that vastness,
to find yourself among the stars.
Yet, you know how my thoughts can spiral,
weaving tales I convince myself are true.
Even as the calmer part of me reasons:
relax, let go, anxiety is just irrational fear
of the uncontrollable.
We each chart our own paths,
I know this, but still—
it’s comforting to hear your voice again.
Originally written as a submission to Rattle’s Poets Respond, based on a Scientific American articles about Voyager 1:
After Months of Gibberish, Voyager 1 Is Communicating Well Again
NASA scientists spent months coaxing the 46-year-old Voyager 1 spacecraft back into healthy communication
It wasn’t accepted, so I thought I’d just leave it here, and maybe encourage others to submit to this awesome weekly poetry contest.
Poetry Is Back in the News
On average, poems in Rattle are published six months to a year after they were submitted. Then they appear online several months after that. Real poetry is timeless, of course, so usually it doesn’t matter—but this is the age of information. News cycles rarely last more than a week, let alone a year. One reason poetry lags behind other forms of contemporary media might be this delay—how can poetry be part of the conversation when it enters so late? Moreover, poets do often respond to current events in real-time, so why make them wait for our print schedule?
Our solution is Poets Respond—a poem written within the last week about a public event that occurred within the last week will appear every Sunday. Our only criterion for selection is the quality of the poem; all opinions and reactions are welcome. Selected poets will receive $100. To have your own poem considered for next week’s posting, submit at the link below before midnight Friday PST. Any poems sent before the midnights of Sunday and Tuesday will also be considered for bonus postings mid-week.
Every Monday our livestreamed Rattlecast episodes feature Poets Respond Live and an open mic share your current events poems—usually at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Join in over Zoom. Watch the broadcast for instructions.
The Truth About Tigers 