This is a tanka for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday.
This week, Colleen has asked us to use synonyms for bells and past.
In time of darkness
the tintinnabulation
tolls for all of us,
displays of holiday cheer,
reminders of our light-search
ESO’s various observatory sites in Chile — Paranal, La Silla, Chajnantor — boast enviably low levels of light pollution. However, the skies overhead are rarely pitch-black! As shown in this image of Paranal Observatory, the skies regularly display a myriad of colours and astronomical sights, from the plane of the Milky Way shining brightly overhead to the orange-hued speck of Mars (left), the starry constellations of Scorpius and Orion, and the magenta splash of the Carina Nebula (upper middle). Despite the remote location there are also occasional signs of human activity, for example the sequence of lamps seen in the centre of the frame. These faint lights illuminate the route from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) where this image was taken. Due to the highly sensitive camera this photograph also showcases a mysterious phenomenon called airglow. The night sky is ablaze with deep red and eerie green hues, caused by the faint glow of Earth’s atmosphere. Because of airglow, no observatory site on Earth could ever be absolutely, completely dark — although ESO’s do come pretty close. This image was taken by talented astronomer and photographer Yuri Beletsky, a member of the 2016 ESO Fulldome Expedition team. This team visited Chile to gather spectacular images for use in the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre.
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. Wishing all of you light in the darkness and miracles.
Merril, I love the word ‘tintinnabulation’. What an excellent use of the t-sound alliteration. This poem would not be the same if you used the prompt words. Excellent. ❤
Thank you, Colleen! I started thinking of bells, and then the Poe poem went through my mind. 🙂
That was exactly the vibe I picked up! LOVE it! ❤
🙂
Lovely tanka, Merril. Thank you for telling me about the light search.
Thank you, Jane.
Did you mean the photo? I found that in my WP photos. I didn’t even remember it. 🙂
I meant the expression you use in your poem.
‘reminders of our light-search’
The photo and the caption are fascinating.
Oh–well, even nicer that you liked my phrase. 😉
🙂
Beautiful Merril! Happy Hanukkah to you all
Thank you, dear Damien!
I just ate a bunch of latkes. 🙂
Yes the season of light(s)—may they continue to shine for you and yours. (K)
Thank you, Kerfe. And for you and yours.
Tintinnabulation to light-search – a nice link
Thank you, Derrick.
Lovely tanka. I’ve been sitting here trying to say “tintinnabulation” out loud and my tongue keeps tripping over it. Fun word. 🙂 Happy Hanukkah, Merril.
Thank you, Robin. It is a fun word, isn’t it? 🙂
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I am still proceeding backwards on time and simply adored this post, Merril!
I liked the repercussions of sound depicted in your thinking and using “tintinnabulation!”
My Dad would bring home NASA films that had to go onto a (8 millimeter?) film projector, beautiful and surreal photographs. It helped me to believe we were not alone in this huge, wide and wild universe! xo
Thank you very much, Robin. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem and that it brought back happy memories.
It was beautiful! In Middletown, Ohio (close to Dayton) there is a tower of bells, my grandparents lived there when we were young.
Of course, they were not the same as the diamonds of light but memories of both my Dad and my Grandpa sprung into my mind. . . Connections of memories.
I’m glad I made you think of a pleasant memory. 🙂
It definitely was a lovely written poem, as well as uniquely gorgeous word patterns incorporated within it. 💗
Thank you! 🙂