Nothing funny about it!
Poetry – Meaning
MeaningForged in the centre of a star Where atoms are stripped And split,The molecules of my mind were created.As it spewed its substance forth In a supernova blast, Condensing,The nascent energy permeated.Into matter, carbon and DNA In wondrous meaning Evolving,As if all life was fated.The unique fire was lit, A spark of consciousness, Of life,A spark that cannot be equated.For without that spark The whole infinite universe Is meaninglessIn darkness unalleviated.Opher – 19.12.2019
I find it hard to imagine and a joy to wonder at, that all the matter and energy in the universe blasted into existence in the instant of the Big Bang. That naked, basic matter, condensed in stars, nuclear dynamos of heat and pressure, in which the more complex elements were created.So all the atoms of my planet and my body emanated from the inferno of a star.Those suns spawned matter and give light and warmth to nourish life. They are truly the gods of the heavens. No wonder primitive people worshiped them.But it is us that give this incredible spectacle meaning.
Poetry – A Hidden Universe
A Hidden Universe
There is a hidden universe within my head,
Residing in the electronic pathways
Of my cerebrum.
This world contains the traces of days gone by,
Of people dead, places visited
Experiences felt.
It’s a store of things that no longer exist,
Distorted through time
Like an image in a mirror
Under the surface of a rippling brook,
Sometimes clear, sometimes hazy.
Memories revisited, unvisited and forgotten,
Waiting to be reawakened.
Incidents frozen in time,
Embellished, improved, recreated
And relived.
A whole life is trapped in fragments,
Unique fragments;
A vision of the world
Containing all that exists of many things.
It’s a jumble of oddments,
Some special, some mundane,
Poorly arranged, poorly stored, frustratingly incomplete.
Occasionally a stimulus causes a forgotten moment to emerge,
Like a silvery fish from amongst the weeds,
Darting into clarity from the depths to surprise us.
Then it’s gone.
One day it will all be gone forever.
Opher 23.2.2022
Inside my head, the whole of my life is recorded. Everything I’ve seen, heard and felt is laid down in a continuous tape, a chemical, electric phenomenon.
It’s a universe with a unique perspective. My view.
I find it miraculous to even begin to imagine this process.
My memory used to be sharp and clear – now it is hazy. So much forgotten.
They say that we rebuild our memories, remake them, change them, embellish hem. Often what we are remembering is the memory of a rebuil memory.
How I wish it was sharper.
I often wonder if it is the memories decaying or the process of remembering becoming less effective.
Age is a frustration.
I cannot remember people clearly, whole events are missing, most days have entirely vanished, yet some are as sharp as yesterday.
One day this whole universe will dissolve into oblivion.
Poetry – Meaning
Meaning
Forged in the centre of a star
Where atoms are stripped
And split,
The molecules of my mind were created.
As it spewed its substance forth
In a supernova blast,
Condensing,
The nascent energy permeated.
Into matter, carbon and DNA
In wondrous meaning
Evolving,
As if all life was fated.
The unique fire was lit,
A spark of consciousness,
Of life,
A spark that cannot be equated.
For without that spark
The whole infinite universe
Is meaningless
In darkness unalleviated.
Opher – 19.12.2019
I find it hard to imagine and a joy to wonder at, that all the matter and energy in the universe blasted into existence in the instant of the Big Bang. That naked, basic matter, condensed in stars, nuclear dynamos of heat and pressure, in which the more complex elements were created.
So all the atoms of my planet and my body emanated from the inferno of a star.
Those suns spawned matter and give light and warmth to nourish life. They are truly the gods of the heavens. No wonder primitive people worshiped them.
But it is us that give this incredible spectacle meaning.
Poetry – Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom
Zillions of galaxies,
Cascading in whirls,
Complex human beings –
Men and women, boys and girls.
Peering up at the skies
With questioning eyes.
The biology of a cell
And nature of thought.
Like green chlorophyll
Mysteries cannot be taught.
They make us ponder and try
To understand why.
Infinite universes
Where time has no end.
The evolution of life
And the way characters blend.
Until time passes by
We’ll be wondering why.
The creation of life
So complex and strange.
The way atoms and molecules
Join and arrange.
We can ponder until Kingdom come
For wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
Opher – 13.11.2019
Socrates said that wonder was the beginning of wisdom. I always used to tell my students to believe nothing. We did not discover new wisdom by accepting the old stories.
This is an infinite universe. To understand it and how it works is the imperative of life. Curiosity is what makes us human. To wonder how things work is the way we move to understanding.
Life is wonder.
Life is another great mystery. To understand how life was created would be incredible. Nobody knows. To create gods to explain the things we do not yet understand seems irrational to me.
We should wonder, explore, think, investigate and delight. That is life.
Poetry – Numbers
Numbers
I saw a trillion stars tonight
Then a trillion grains of sand.
But they were mere handfuls
Compared to the atoms in my pen.
It took billions of years
To appreciate this fact.
These numbers are too large for
My billions of brain cells.
Opher – 24.8.2019
We have a hundred billion brain cells. That is all. It is not enough.
The size of the universe. The distance in miles. The length of time. The number of stars. The number of atoms.
They are all beyond our limited ability to comprehend.
Numbers
I saw a trillion stars tonight
Then a trillion grains of sand.
But they were mere handfuls
Compared to the atoms in my pen.
It took billions of years
To appreciate this fact.
These numbers are too large for
My billions of brain cells.
Opher – 24.8.2019
We have a hundred billion brain cells. That is all. It is not enough.
The size of the universe. The distance in miles. The length of time. The number of stars. The number of atoms.
They are all beyond our limited ability to comprehend.
Poetry – I Read the Page
I Read the Page
I read the page behind the words
And breathe the air beneath the birds,
In which nothing lives,
Yet it holds all life.
Seeking meaning
Through this mad strife
I search the black between the stars
And touch the skin between the scars,
To find the story
That does not exist.
But in that blankness
Lies life’s gist
I hear the silence between the notes
And trawl the depths on which all floats.
For that alone is true
And contains the tale
On which we grew.
But there is nothing there
Anew
I knew
Opher 21.8.09
I Read the Page
You get so caught up in life that you often lose track of what you are doing. It becomes habit. Life goes on in an unchanging monotony, swamping you with trivia, until it suddenly changes.
A writer hunts for truth, meaning and purpose among the debris of the days.
The truth is that in the depths of eternity all we have are the precious moments in which we live. That is where the best stories are to be gleaned. We defiantly carve them from thin air.
Our stories have the same substance, the same significance, as life. They will outlive us.
There is no ultimate purpose and everything will pass. That is why we write. It is the defiance that makes us special.
My Weird Sixties Surreal Book – Chapter 48 – Poem – Understanding
This collage was forming in my head all the time and seemed to make a lot of sense. I’m on page 104 out of 130 in my rewrite. I hope it is working for you too.
48.
We were on the point of understanding each other,
Us two.
We had the chance,
You remember?
When I was angry with you
And you cried.
My books are available on Amazon in paperback and digital formats. They are world-wide!
In the UK you might like to browse through on my link below: For overseas visitors please refer to your local Amazon. You’ll find me there.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1475747471&sr=1-2-ent
In the USA:
In the USA – https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin
Here’s a few selected titles:
Rock Music
- The Blues Muse – the story of Rock music through the eyes of the man with no name who was there through it all.
2. In Search of Captain Beefheart – The story of one man’s search for the best music from the fifties through to now.
Science Fiction
1. Ebola in the Garden of Eden – a tale of overpopulation, government intrigue and a disaster that almost wipes out mankind, warmed by the humanity of children.
2. Green – A story set in the future where pollution is destroying the planet and factions of the Green Party have different solutions – a girl is born with no nervous system.
Kindle & Paperback versions:
The Environment
1. Anthropocene Apocalypse – a detailed memoir of the destruction taking place all over the globe with views on how to deal with it.
Education
- A passion for Education – A Headteacher’s story – The inside story of how to teach our children properly.
There are many more – why not give them a go! You’ll love them!