Heide Orleth ’22
Acrylic on canvas, a homemade gift given
To match a starry-eyed daydreamer
With her lyrical words
But with a closer look
Another scene is revealed
A supernova
The dying essence of a star
Long since imploded into the emptiness of space
A bright flash before eternal quiet
The coming color its last exhale
Tendrils of dust and gas reach into the black
In shades of evergreen and lilac
They curve and dance
Within an endless void
Nestled in its celestial arms
Floats a mass of metal, glass,
And life
A port.
Brimming with light in the dark
In the chaos
That a star left behind
They bring their own music to the black
Vessels made to cut through the rich fabric of spacetime
Churn and sputter as they join the fray
Locking onto the station’s open arms
Its interior holding the same vibrance
As the supernova
From the furthest reaches of the galaxy
From any number of solar systems and stars
Speaking languages irreputable with the human tongue
The population blooms to
Rival any Earthen town
A haven of trade and communication
And in the palm of a crushing nothingness
Life persists
Deals are made, met, and broken
Songs are sung, stories exchanged
They breathe, smile, love, lose
Against the Logic that rules the black
But maybe that’s what one forgets
Logic
Science
Possibility
and Impossibility
Perhaps the painting is merely that
No grand tale to be seen or heard
Imagination trumped by Logic
Thankfully, that is a matter of opinion
And mine says
There is always a story to be found