THE INVERTED EUCALYPTUS
In the unlit room, the glass-topped table
reflects the crepuscular, upside-down
image of the tree. In this small picture,
the Moon is descending through its branches.
Through the window, a hazy full Moon,
trailing south easterly clouds, is rising,
with the shimmering Evening Star, above
the eucalyptus, across a darkening sky.
How fast we move through the universe and yet
how still the glass on the table and the panes
in the window, the tree and its image,
the ubiquitous eucalyptus, appear:
an accidental, antipodean
masterwork of reality and dream.
John Chapman
January 25, 2012And yet, recently seen on TV, all matter is in a state of flux, everything is moving due to electrons being in constant random motion so nothing, apparently, is ever “still” although the movement may be so slow that we do not perceive it.
How perceptions have been massively changed, even in my lifetime, and continue to be in a seemingly accelerating fashion as science rushes us on to infinity.
Tim Ellis
January 27, 2012Science shows us that our subjective perceptions of the universe tell us very little about reality. Is that what this poem is saying? All we see is a misleading reflection of the truth? Interesting use of the word antipodean.
David Selzer
January 27, 2012Yes, it is about the ancient dichotomy between being and seeming. In many ways, the latter is as true – that is, as significant, for us – as the former.