What the old want to hear.
Professor Penrose has a working hypothesis
That in the brain stem, at the quantum level perversely,
"When we appear to be completely 'brown bread'
Something uniquely us, is shared universally".
This is quite reassuring whether unproven or unprovable.
Because when it comes to take the terminal breath.
The return of our quantum souls to the Universe
Is undeniably preferable, to absolute death.
I stumbled across this video clip taken with my smartphone from the upper deck of a 'tossing' boat 'heaving-to' just off the uninhabited side of Stromboli.
There is a lava lake or pool near the summit, which from time to time over flows and lava rolls down the sides to the sea.
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| Altair in Aquila |
If there are trillions upon trillions of stars
Why is the sky at night so very very dark?
And why don't stars leave their light starry mark?
If you go down to the woods you don't get a big surprise
All you see around you is a dense green wall of trunks, leaves and trees
So the stellar paradox remains a conundrum, an astronomic tease.
When we look up and out into outer space
We see very ancient starlight from times long gone by
Because the speed of light is fast but finite as photons tend to fly.
The reason the night sky is so very very dark
Is the missing stars are many billions of light years away, not at all cosmicly close or neighbourly near
And their light, traveling at 300 million kilometres per second, is in transit and still awaiting to appear.
George Roberts October 2026 Stellar Doggerel
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| Photo taken with a Google Pixel 8a smartphone and DeepSky Camera Pro App. Post capture processed using freeware Affinity Photo 3 on a laptop. |
It has to be said that George Roberts is not good with either touch screens or smartphones!
However this photo of the Constellation Pegasus, which also managed to pick up the Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million lightyears distant, turned out better than was originally envisaged. Maybe he should read the App manual?
The Lamp
In a land far away and all around
In a cave deep underground
Is a lamp most magical.
Outside stands a tin soldier on guard
Not barring access just making it hard.
For a lamp that shines bright
Shines the shortest.
The lamp was forged amongst death and pain
A time of nothing 'to lose and all to gain'
It burned bright
In those far off days!
Few now remember that the lamp is there
Or what it is and hidden where
By someone's choice it's light has been all but extinguished
To protect the precious flame.
Each day another soldier takes his place
A nameless soul by god's good grace
"I will protect the Lamp with my life" said the tin soldier.
"No with ours" said a chorus of soft voices from afar.
George Roberts - weary doggerel October 2026
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| 'What is it- it's a tree - there's lovely' translated from the original Welsh. |
Evolution and Grandma
Humans, Elephants and Whales
Share 'the menopause'
Not the fierce and stripey tiger
However much she roars
Evolution was architect of 'the menopause'
For longevity, it placed the unique female right of birth on permanent hold
Protection for information continuity's cause
Grandma boldly going forward long after Grandad was 'trotters up' and cold.
So Grandchildren, when Grandma tells her wise story
Hold her old hand and listen carefully as together you cuddle, huddle and sit.
Because your own Grandma is 'Evolution's Great Glory
And of her unique Grandma knowledge, future generations may well depend on it!
George Roberts -Tooters doggerel. October 2026
Angel
The sky is a beautiful blue
Underfoot a black sand beach
The Sun is my warm friend
But just outside of my reach
Then I am at school again
Bright new and shiny
Learning again things forgotten
Studying how to be tiny
All my children are here
Grandchildren too
May be at the circus
May be at the zoo
I walk into my smartphone
A life built in screens
Neatly curated
Old age, Adult, Teens.
Time and space envelope me
Moving from first to last
Times arrow curving
Mixing future, current and past
None of this upsets me
As I stumble on the sand
Because my angel walks with me
Still clasping my old hand
