Orbiting to Spring

A poem that considers the sun from a more scientific perspective contributed by Fiona Lockwood

Ninety three million miles away
It is central to our lives
Every day we can count on it
Being up there in the sky.
The great gas ball, called Sun
Glows glaringly ultra bright
Emitting electro magnetic fields
With infra red and ultra violet light.

In winter, it hovers low
As Earth tilts us on its axis
Taking us into cold dark space
Peaking with the winter solstice.
We spend more time in darkness
And adopt a torpid state
Coldness creeps through our being
And many creatures hibernate.

But Sun, is ever present
Gently melting the morning frost
And Earth is ever orbiting
Towards the warmer vernal equinox.
It is such a gradual process
But our star is so very great
That with every passing day
We reclaim the energy that it radiates.

Increasing spectral light
Creates the season of renewal
Longer, brighter days
When hope ever springs eternal.
Warmth returns with open arms
And plants eagerly come to life
Flower buds start forming
And green shoots appear overnight.

A new season brings unique gifts
But the promise of spring in the air
Lifts us to the greatest heights
And expectation is everywhere.
So yes, thank our lucky star
Round which we go again,
It has a truly epic stellar role
To which we are inextricably beholden.

Fiona Lockwood, 2021

Read more

Download ‘Take the time’ Issue 6 – Science edition Feb 2021 (pdf)

Send us your contribution

We love to include some of your own reflections in future posts and in our monthly print edition ‘Elevate your mood’ or quarterly printed tabloid ‘Take the time’. Why not write a few lines, try a poem or send us picture on the general theme of into spring into summer? Email to ArtCare or send to ArtCare, Block 29, Salisbury District Hospital, Salisbury SP2 8BJ