Ballade of Halley's Comet

BALLADE OF HALLEY'S COMET

Away from all the city lights
With binoculars skyward scanned
Up on hills where the cold wind fights
And tries to get the upper hand,
Frozen and all alone I stand.
Below the Pleiades I stare,
Hoping I can see that firebrand -
Oh, Halley's Comet, are you there?

I've seen some meteorites -
Shooting stars over the moorland -
The moving lights of satellites,
And once when on the Rio Grande
A full eclipse of sun was planned
I saw it well, I do declare,
But now this answer I command -
Oh, Halley's Comet, are you there?

I have searched all these starry nights
Like Customs after contraband.
In nineteen-ten you reached the heights
With tail stretching to Samarkand.
Towards you spacecraft head unmanned
With computer programmed software
To analyse and understand -
Oh, Halley's Comet, are you there?

ENVOI

Prince, will its tail this time expand
So I can see this sight, so rare,
I'll go to any distant strand ?
Oh, Halley's Comet, are you there?

© Gerald England

Composed:  Ashton under Lyne, 25th November 1985

Publications

1989 New Hope International (UK)
1990 International Poetry Suplemento (USA)
1999 Romanian Contemporary Astropoetry (Romania)

*****

BALADA COMETEI HALLEY (I)

Departe de toate luminile orasului

Cu binocluri scanand salonul cerului

Sus pe dealuri unde vantul rece lupta

Si incearca sa obtina mana absoluta,

Inghetat si singur am stat,

Sub Pleiade am privit fix,

Sperand sa pot vedea ace taciune de foc-

O, cometa Halley, acolo esti?

Gerald England

translated into Romanian by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe.

Publications

2001 Pasi spre infinit (Romania)

2003 SARM (Internet)