What creatures dream?

Close-up of M17 by the Hubble Space Telescope

 

What creatures dream?

 

     "...Breathe in the possibilities..."

 

What creatures dream on other worlds?

On planets born where matter swirls

With multi-moons and triple suns

With days like months and seasons none

 

What poetry and science there?

On lands most hot, where winds are rare

In frigid seas of nitrogen

When stars exhaust their hydrogen

 

And what, then, their philosophy?

With water a great rarity

When lava flows in fire falls

When life but lives in cavern halls

 

And what of worlds beyond our ken?

Existence with dimension ten

When time’s dimensions number two

Fate both before and after you

 

What poetry might be, my friend

On the sad worlds where time does end

With space dimensions less than three

Where physics can’t support a tree

 

Can you imagine such a world?

That chance into existence hurled

And though these worlds beyond me be

I prize their possibility

 

Do creatures dream on other worlds?

I think it so, when thoughts unfurl

And gazing up into the sky

It's awe of life that draws my sigh

 

 

 

©2008, Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

Featured in the online magazine "People Are Amazing", May 27, 2015--see http://people-are-amazing.com/what-creatures-dream/.

Author's Note

Dear Readers,

This poem, "What creatures dream", and me, the author, were featured on the on-line magazine "People Are Amazing" in June of 2015. Below is the article that appeared with the poem.

My best regards,

Rick

----- Magazine Article -----

This week I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with author and professional astronomer Richard Puetter. Richard, who was introduced to poetry at a young age by his father, admits that as he grew up, the fascinations with science and mathematics outstripped his ambitions as a writer, but in later years, as he sought to publish chapters of a fantasy novel he was working on, the lure of poetry was once again reinvigorated.

To me, Richard is a fascinating writer. He sees beyond a work’s potential to move people, and understands it’s potential to communicate. “While most poets would quickly agree that emotion is the fundamental part of writing poetry (and this is probably the motivation behind poetic writing), poetry itself speaks to the mind. It is language. If done properly it is the highest form of communication. But it is different than music or painting, for example. Those arts talk more directly to the pure emotional part of us. But poetry hits us without the need for sound and without visual input. It speaks to our minds, and the intellect then fires up the emotional being inside of us.”

Richard goes on to explain, “That is why unlike lots of other poets, I like to write pieces that are chock-full of facts, and in many of my pieces you’ll find pages of footnotes. I think this can fire up the mind all on its own, and then the poetic work can be seen on a broader canvas, which increases the emotional potential."

I like to think of Richard as a purist, a perfectionist, someone that’s always tinkering, perfecting, adapting. His writing is alive and evolving continuously as he grows, learns, reconsiders. Indeed he would tell you himself, “I think a poem is living art. It only is finished, at least for me, when the poet dies.” While I was talking with him, he pointed me to a quote attributed to noble laureate physicist Feyman.

“I have a friend who’s an artist, and has sometimes taken a view which I don’t agree with very well. He’ll hold up a flower and say “look how beautiful it is,” and I’ll agree. Then he says “I as an artist can see how beautiful this is, but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing,” and I think that he’s kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people, and to me too, I believe. Although I may not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is … I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it’s not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimetre; there’s also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colours in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it, is interesting; it means that insects can see the colour. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don’t understand how it subtracts.”

This is the wonderful ability that Richard possess. He can see beyond the words of his poetry and communicate through his writing effectively and efficiently. He is able to write with inspiration in his words, inspiration that might awaken the hungry mind of a young reader to question the universe in which he or she lives. It is the ability to prompt the reader to ponder the presented facts, to mull over the concepts and ideas that lie within the writing. Richard’s ability to channel his own curiosity and share it with his readers is masterful and refreshing. It is the prime reason that I find myself fascinated and enchanted by his work, and am so excited to share it with our readers.

Richard Puetter is a prolific writer, not only of poetry, but of a whole array of stories, novels and books that will enthral and enchant you. If you’d like to know any more about Richard Puetter or follow him online, please use the links provided below.

Reviews

[Emily Rose]

I exist! And I really like this - it's great to ponder the existence of other worlds and other creatures on those worlds, especially for one so informed about science as yourself. Your knowledge really carries into your poetry!

I have some little things, of course. In your second stanza, "What poetry and science there" makes sense, but it's still a little unclear. Why not "is poetry and science there?" It would add a verb to the line, plus it makes it sound a bit more inquisitive. I would recommend a similar fix in the first line of the third stanza - "what, then, their philosophy" sounds a little more archaic than I think the tone really supports, so I would recommend "And what is their philosophy?" or "Do they know philosophy?" or something equally as inquisitive. Starting off with verbs, even if they aren't particularly strong verbs, is a great way to bring more clarity and focus to a line. I find the fifth stanza a little confusing as well; I think it's the question mark the throws me off, since it implies that I new idea is being started in the next line, when it's much more clear to read the lines together: "What poetry might be, my friend, in the sad worlds where time does end, with space demensions less than three, where physics cannot hold a tree?" (I must say, too, that the "physics cannot hold a tree" line strikes me as slightly out of place and more there for the sake of the rhyme scheme than anything else. I can see what you're doing with it; a tree couldn't very well exist in a two-demensional world, but even so, it seems a little random after you're talking about such a heavy subject as the destruction of time.)

The last stanza is wonderful, by the way, although (and I'm sure you knew I'd say this) I think adding more punctuation to the poem in general would make it much clearer. It's your choice, though. Well done as usual, Rick!

[Mark]

Well, to absoutely no one's surprise, I disagree with the earlier correspondent who took issue with frequency of a specific interrogative, and the ration of word lengths. What matters is constancy of meter, which, as ever, you've nailed, and the repitition of specific words is an old device, which serves to lure in and hold the reader.
There's a strong element of tongue-in-cheek humor here I'd like to see emphasized; "fate both before and after you!"
Nobody who's aware of the life on our OWN planet could ever again doubt existence of life elsewhere, protesting too extreme conditions, like...in boiling mud?...locked in solid ice?...blind, translucent, gelatinous, under 1000 atmospheres of pressure, breathing hydrogen sulfide a 400*C?...seeds that cannot germinate until they've been roasted? COME ON, PEOPLE!! LIFE IS EVERYWHERE!! But to posit on it's dreams, its philosophy, now THAT is rare!

[[untitled]]

hey... :)
i loved this poem... cause it didn't ask me to think or decipher any hidden meaning...
it was so simple..yet so intriguing... reminded me of our astronomy classes... there's this organisation S.P.A.C.E.. they had classes in our school... we would be taken for over night observations and had conversations especially on the possibility of life forms on other planets.. though i was always in the opposing party... we would be headed by dr.amitabh... who would always say.. never rule out the possibility of anything ...even if you have all the required evidences... just never say no for anything ..especially in science... this is there page.. http://www.space-india.net/

loved the entire work... especially when the space organisations around the globe are being cursed for wasting government's money... such thoughts highlight the importance of human curiosity and the inevitable thirst of knowledge..

take care and please keep smiling... :)
niki.. :)

[Jera]

wow, I love this. I was smiling the entire time I was reading. You have an amazing sense of rhythm and a talent I would say.

[Kyler Thomann]

Introspective, interesting, etc.

This is great. You've written an introspective poem about other things, and thats hard to pull off.

Kudos.

[Legion]

Wow! You have just transcended space, time, and philosophy in one piece. This is an awesome read. You have definetly done justice to the human race (just in case some creature from afar does read this one day). :) Kudos and a standing ovation on this. Love the pic you put with it too. Brilliant.

[Max]

Once again, i love it. I also like how you use pictures in the beggining to give atmosphere to your peoms. They really leave you with the right feeling to dive right into the words.

The possiblity of life SOMEWHERE in the universe is very real, although unfortunately we will probably never be able to contact any other life.

Great poem, lots of thought put into it. I like science in poems too, shows that anything can be made into an art.

The usual mastery of meter shows itself again.

[Clint Hale]

Thank you for referring me to this piece. I enjoy the fact that there is another who shares such love of knowledge, even if we will never and can never fully understand such things. Your ideas of poetry and philosophy being a part of unseen cultures and lives is inspiring and leaves me pondering the subject even more. Although, it saddens me to think how few people question such things.

"And though these worlds beyond me be
I prize their possibility"

That is exactly the thirst for understanding I am speaking of. Great job, I think I'll meander through your other work.


Clint

[Sheila Kline]

Hi Rick!

This is brilliant! And, I am going to review only on a level of reaction, feeling as I am "blown-away" by it! I love the concept of science/vs poetry, and the possibilities of how the two interact to create such a possibility.....what then their philosophy? Oh yes, I would like to think that dreams exist in all dimensions!
Awesome write, and the image you have used with brilliance and beauty sets the stage for an play with characters of reality/vs the imagined!
Wonderful write, wonderful image!!
Whisks me to outer space to ask the question myself!
Sheila........somewhere between here and infinity!

[ATG]

This was a very interesting and very well written poem. I enjoyed reading it.

[HoorayForUnderdog]

Excellent poem...I will think of your poem when I am walking my dog and star gazing!