During Advent I'll be reading the poems of astronomer and poet the late Rebecca Elson. The story of the obliging star and the gullible peripatetic Magi is an embarrassment to those whose religious reach can't get beyond verifiable empirical facts captured on digital camera. To anyone who has a sense of scale and the cosmic vastness of things, and for whom existence isn't measured by the arithmetic of the ordinary but by that capacity to be surprised which is a necessary presupposition for the deepest kinds of human knowing, to such people, stars and Advent are mutually referential, shedding light on each other.
"Arise! Shine! Your light has come!" God knows, our world needs light, and yes, a guiding light that tempts us to follow to the place where promises are fulfilled, where human life is redefined, and where fragility and danger do not stop hope from being born. Amongst the wise assumptions of the ancients, was awareness of the limit of human intelligence, and that awareness of limit the opening for a more adventurous epistemology. Well anyway, here's an Advent poem, not from Rebecca Elson this time, but from U A Fanthorpe's Collected Poems.
The Wise Man and the Star
The proper place for stars is in the sky,
Lighting the whole world but negotiating only
With the highly qualified – master mariners, astro-physicians,
Professionals like ourselves.
This one came unscheduled, nudged us roughly
Out of routine, led us a wild-goose chase,
And perching here, above unspeakbale rafters,
Common as a starling on a washing line,
Whistles to every calllow Dick and Harry,
Idling amazed around: "OK pals, I've done my bit.
Over to you now, Earth."
Leave a Reply