Speculative poetry
a couple of poems by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Today’s stories are brought to you in a format of quick poems, but they pack a punch, first showing us the wonder of the universe, and second, revealing the underside of time travel, and a hint at what might be found in the far future.
I guess you could say both poems are about the end, but really they are about those quiet moments that linger, be it in beautiful, budding horror, or a growing, interminable unease.
As always, see you on the Underside. Bon voyage!
Archive Copy
We sent the nanobots out
To explore the galaxy,
New jump tech sent them hopping,
Faster than old sub-light probes,
Self-repairing and –replicating,
Using what they needed to
Keep up the search,
They could go where we
Had not the funds to follow.
Back they trickled, flowed,
Then torrented,
Bringing back fantastic shots:
Worlds, stars, & nebulae
Imploding, bursting, shrinking.
Then, one by one,
The nearer stars winked out.
—as appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction in 2013—
Devonian or Bust
They buy sturdy stuff:
entrenching tools,
canoes, knives & tents;
no camp stoves.
They pay with absolutely
pure gold,
take lots of photos
of people, animals, flowers, forests;
they don't stay long.
I hear things:
the nutritional value of bryophytes,
net- vs. spear fishing,
how long to boil trilobites,
the best designs for solar ovens;
they never buy grills,
when they're going is before wood,
before coal,
before oil.
They know our future,
and they don't stay long, they know,
but no one's talking;
tight grips on their kids
and eyes on their watches;
I can see their fear.
My cousin went with the last group,
one bailed, went native in NYC, they say,
so they had room;
they didn't tell her much,
but the way she said goodbye?
I know it's more than just the 360 million years.
“Make each day count,” she said,
“something's coming.”
—as appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction—
Meet the author:
David C. Kopaska-Merkel, a retired paleontologist, won the 2006 Rhysling award for best long poem (collaboration with Kendall Evans), and edits Dreams & Nightmares magazine (since 1986.) He has edited Star*line and several Rhysling anthologies, has served as SFPA president, and is an SFPA Grandmaster. He was disabled in a serious car accident in 2003, but keeps on writing. His poems have been published in Asimov’s, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium, and more than 200 other venues. Some Disassembly Required, his latest poetry collection, comes out this year from Diminuendo Press. @DavidKM on twitter.
Underside anecdote from the author: Last year we let a homeless veteran stay with us in a one-room outbuilding we had. He was a good talker, and at first helped quite a bit, including helping us convert an old shuttle bus into an accessible RV. Turned out he was gaslighting us, and stealing, a lot! It's over with, but we no longer feel comfortable helping people that way.
