Poems by Sylvia Stults

Yesterday morning I opened my hands
I thought with a smile the places they've been
Building sand castles and catching fireflies
Nature was best, that's where happiness lies

Picking up seashells, or gathering stones
Flat ones were best for skipping when thrown
The pond would then ripple as countdown began
Four, five...Ya, I beat you again

Grabbing a rope that swings from a tree
Landing with a splash, letting go, count of three
Holding a stick for a marshmallow roast
Or filling pie irons, the crust made of toast

The lesson I learned was put down your phone
Create the memories your hands have shone
Appreciation will be felt for all of earth's lands
As your child grows older, looking down at their hands

Sliding down the milky way as the harvest moon lights the way
This starts my journey through the galaxy
My first stop, Gould's Belt, at 20 degrees.

It was Orion I first met there, with sword in hand without a fear
While Scorpio and Carina sat at the atmospheric shore
Discussing their next voyage, one I wanted to explore

I mentioned I was on a quest to see what the Universe holds
When Carina looked at Scorpio and said, It needs to be shown.
At first I wondered what he meant, for it made no sense to me
But then Carina turned and said, Would you like to join me at sea?

Upon the ship of Argo with Vela as the sail
Carina keeled through the quake cut by Cetus the giant whale
When far off in the distance and much to my surprise
Was Delphinus the Dolphin signaling everything was alright

I pulled out my compass and noticed an awful flaw
When Carina said there is no East or West, my friend,
We go by Kepler's Law

So with each planetary motion
My light show soon began, with Jupiter, then Saturn
With rings of glistening bands

All the planets took their turn in showing off their luster
When all of a sudden, off to the side, particles started to cluster
Hues of greens, yellows, reds, and blues all began to mingle
Creating such a magnificent site my skin started to tingle

This is a nebula, said Carina This is the core.
This is the birthplace of the planets galore
Each planet started with just one spark, searing in it's colors
The nebula makes each color their own all different then the others.

But what about that planet there? I said with a defying glare,
That planets colors are all dim and black
With ugly fumes of soot and ash.

Carina suddenly lost her braggadocios tone
And with sadness in her eyes
She said, That is what you call home.

At one time it was I, Carina, that would sit throughout the night
With hopes that I may catch one glimpse of your planet's awesome site
Your blues, which you call oceans, the greens, which you call grass,
the pinks and yellows of your skies sparkled like effervescent glass

The music that filled the air lulled us to sleep from birds I hear
What are birds? I do not know, other then
Colorful creatures with musical souls

Then gradually your planet started to dim
A thick black dust choked life from within.
No longer do we hear the songbirds sing
What a horrible lost, What a horrible thing

No longer do the song birds sing
No longer do the song birds sing

P.S. From me: THINK GREEN :)