Paradise Poem by Paul Butters

There hangs a group of galaxies,
Shimmering wheels of fire, misted by clouds of dust.
A spiral galaxy swirls with curling arms
And taper-reaching-fingers,
Feeling, tentative tendrils, into the black abyss.
On one such fingertip there is a gem:
A star which harbours planet "Paradise"
- No other name will do!
A world of azure beauty basking in her sun;
This glowing globe of mystery,
Shrouded in fleecy white clouds - mini-galactic wheels!
See the sunbeams lancing through those clouds,
To radiate her endless oceans,
And brighten up those verdant, flowery,
Flittering-butterfly-filled forest tracts.
Look down at sweeping plains pounded by thundering hooves,
Overshadowed by snow-capped craggy mountains,
With tumbling, rocky waterfalls,
Patrolled by winging birds of prey.
See tropical blue-lagoon atolls,
Fringed by golden sands, and swaying sentinel-palms.
Yes, this world is to be cherished,
No! "Paradise" is not too strong.
We trust her people will learn to care,
To preserve her in all her glory;
No, not Tau Ceti, or Epsilon Eridani,
Just the planet they call, plainly:
"Earth"!

(Dedicated to my dad, Pete,13\2\1920 - 23\6\97)

(Notes: Dad died about two months before Princess Di. There was a comet hanging overhead. Wrote this poem same year. If I recall correctly an editor turned it down (my only rejection to date touch wood) but then another editor from the same publishing house accepted it for a collection of poems. Reading it now I am quite satisfied with the piece) .