Clarke's Odyssey

Andmymare · [Mon Nov 07, 2005 6:53 pm]

Oh dear, Ron,
here I'll go and fumble this, I feel as if it has allusions to things I don't know well enough to understand it fully.
ahm, Bowman's bubble made me think of bubble-gum with cards inside the pack, but then "universal child in orbit" coming right after made me think of "2001" A Space Odyssey with its obscure baby floating in space. It also made me think of the boy in the bubble, some child born with not enough immune defenses in his system, that had to be sequestered in a plastic bubble. Ahm, the Hubble telescope showing us the cosmos, or a tiny part of it, and, is a TMA summat in air-space? Hm?
"TMA is sign of struggle
In the mind of those not seing
Beings from afar a' fleeing. (visitors from another planet? Or just those ones that live here and will not/cannot see?
Time and Space they come together
Gather all and like a feather
Carry on the works of God.
Love that baby that's the job."
Damn, my mind is too coloured by what I've been reading lately; and you're painting with a reeeeealllly big brush here, but it was the last line that blew my mind.
I'll wait until others review this. I have a feeling I'm going at this from the wrong part of the space-time continuum....but, I will really be happy to know what this is about. Some kinda wonderful....

Bedford [<16] · [Mon Nov 07, 2005 9:18 pm]

Smashing poem, massive job description.
I'd say you have a fair handle on at least some of it Ron. Well done. Very Happy

Roy · [Mon Nov 07, 2005 11:28 pm]

'My God, it's full of stars', or something. Pretty sure this is all '2001', but with the emphasis on the lesson left behind. A good one, Ron, and about as succinct as can be.
_________________
Roy

www.royeveritt.com

Ron · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:23 am]

Lynda,

Bowman is the time traveller in '2001 - A Space Odyssey' and 'TMA' is an acronym for 'Tycho Magnetic Anomoly' because the black monolith that was discovered on the Mooon was found in the Tycho Brae crater, named after Tycho Brae the ancient astronomer. 'Beings from afar a' fleeing', in the movie, were the Aliens who colonised Europa and turned Jupiter into the Second Sun. Here on Earth the 'Beings' are refugees - so well done. You were right about the Hubble and I'll give you a big fat Gold Star for seeing a helpless child in a bubble/incubater as, to be honest, I hadn't thought of that myself. I visualised the baby in the bubble as not only the unborn child who should be loved but all children who need to be cucooned and loved until they are old enough to 'go it alone'.

Arthur C. Clarke wrote the trilogy.

Ha, you should post your crits as Short Stories - they are worthy of praise in their own right.

All my love,

Ron
_________________
". . . and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The Beatles

Ron · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:29 am]

Cheers, Bedford,

Aye, lad, 'massive job' indeed. Personally, I partially failed in that department and only years later am I able to make up for it in some way.

Thanks for dropping by, man,

Wink

_________________
". . . and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The Beatles

Ron · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:33 am]

You're spot on, Roy,

Those were Bowman's exact words as he fell into the monolith in orbit around Jupiter.

And, yes, it is the 'lesson' that is the real point of this little ditty.

Cheers

_________________
". . . and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The Beatles

Andmymare · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:31 pm] **For you**

Hey, Ron,
Everything reminds me of something else. Your poem tickled this up until I had to listen to it to get it out of my head. I won't say I couldn't help posting lyrics; I could have, but chose not to. Anyway, your love is a "monolithic anomaly" too. So here!

The Boy in the Bubble Lyrics

It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry

It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of re-birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry

It's a turn-around jump shot
It's everybody jump start
It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art, think of
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart

And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
(Paul Simon.)

Ron · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 4:26 pm]

Lynda, love that track...

Bugger all to do wi' my poem, though, but glad it got ya Paul Simon foot-tappin' though Laughing

...now look what yerv gone an' done? I got that ol' song runnin' round me ol' noggin now! Laughing

I'll letcha off though coz I love that track.

ps, made a slight booboo with my original explanation of the TMA acronym then editted - lerrus off, eh? darlin'?

Hehe.

Cheers

Ron
_________________
". . . and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The Beatles

Andmymare · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:41 pm]

Uh Ron, you ask for so little lol. Wink

Ron · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:59 pm]

Hehehe, that's unconditional love fer ya, Lynda... seeya in the next ditty.

Smooch

_________________
". . . and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The Beatles

Sammy-Sparkle · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:20 pm]

Eh?

(Minimalism rules! Damn, I've just destroyed my one-word reply!)
bring Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" back to TV, that's what I say. Laughing

Ron · [Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:57 pm]

Couldn't agree with you more, star-spangled-Sparkling-Sammy,

Bring back Cosmos!

Hey, you got the keel laid on that Titanic yet? I can do rivetting as well, you know.

Best wishes from an ex-shipyard worker.

May your Emerald Isle bring you emeralds.

Thanks, Sammy,

Ron
_________________
". . . and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The Beatles

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Poetry Showcase [Metaphysical]	Moderators for this section: Weaver, ochsterboxter, CadenzRime, Lingua Pura, ososment, carolynrn, Inker
Clarke's Odyssey Outline: Arthur C. Clarke knows what he's on about Bowman floating in the bubble Universal child in orbit Stardust forming Edwin Hubble TMA is sign of struggle In the mind of those not seeing Beings from afar a' fleeing. Time and Space they come together Gather all and like a feather Carry on the works of God. Love that baby that's the job.