Monument to Helen Ehrlich

MONUMENT TO HELEN EHRLICH

TWO SONNETS

Love Song to Lucy

Three million times your bones have swept around
The sun since last your warn brown foot walked here
Upon the veldt. The hills, the lake, were dear
To you, and morning flowers, and each sweet sound
Of bird. In meadows where you played were found
The beasts that fed and clothed you--life’s career.
And so you lived, until one day in fear
You died, and never knew you would astound
A future race. What waves of time beyond
Your ken evolved your sires, and ours, and sent
You here to us upon this destined shore,
Where we, your seed, have found you and respond
In awe? You speak in tomes you never dreamt--
A parent-link to all that lies before.

Lucy Answers

Your turn will come--time upon time your bones
Will also sweep the sun, and from the clay
Strange creatures, on a far and stranger day,
With eye and hand the primal mind disowns,
Will find you there among the silvered stones--
Will lift you, brush the ancient years away
And sift your possibilities the way
You do with me, in hushed and puzzled tones.
Your seed will seek his sire in mark and line
And try to mould your fce, as you mold mine.
Yet I knew not you’d issue forth from me,
Nor can you penetrate his mystery.
As silence holds all future time at bay,
So tides will turn and sweep him, too, away.

“Two Sonnets” by Helen Ehrlich won the 1984 Rhysling Award in the Short Poem Category. I have been unable to contact Helen Ehrlich but I wanted to let her know how very much that I admire her “Two Sonnets.” --Thomas Newton


THE VOYAGE OF THE CRITIC THOMAS NEWTON

“I have heard writers refer to [William Logan] as ‘the most hated man in American poetry,’ a title one could be proud of in this time of fawning and favor-trading’.”--Robert McDowell, Hudson Review

Can there be a more exacting critic than William Logan?

My literary Ark upon the tide
Of mediocrity is carried high
Above the ordinary by the pride
Of Western culture, stored here safe and dry:
The Bible, Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson,
Wordsworth and Coleridge, Longfellow, Rand.
I wonder far, a lonely denizen,
Searching the seven seas for fertile land.
I feed my rations to the Albatross,
My friend, my guiding star, my only hope
Of drifting through this dreadful sea of dross.
I’m looking through my faithful telescope.
“Two Sonnets,” tower toward the brilliant sky,
I see are answering the question, Why?

Dedicated to Helen Ehrlich

The Reflection Mode

THE REFLECTION MODE

So they hanged Haman on the gallows
that he prepared for Mordecai. --Esther 7:10

The Dictator arrested him for fixing
The ventilation fan. "The miners hate
Me. I desired them dead, and you are mixing
In my affairs. A firing squad’s your fate."
The sun reflected from polished rifles
Which waited for the Dictator’s desire
To kill this innocent, brave man for trifles.
The cruel voice commanded them to "Fire!"
Tan issued Command Twenty-One--Reflection
Mode Start. The target profile scan began.
The black neck band was made for his protection.
The seven bullets bounced off of Tan,
And struck the Dictator. The people cheered
For Mercy and real Justice had appeared.

The Intergalactic Library Planet

THE INTERGALACTIC LIBRARY PLANET

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
--Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde (c. 1342-1400)

"For: Tan Nigontig--URGENT--twenty hours
Until all data is destroyed. We will
Pay any price for help with storage towers.
Proceed to power grid at Knowledge Hill."
I said their antimatter field-containment
Equipment was substandard, obsolete.
For many parts there were no replacements.
"To: Literary Guild--Found data sheet."
"My alien device replicated these
Containment parts and now you have to know
There is a sixty percent chance that the
Whole core explodes. What is your answer?" "GO!"
The work went well. The job is done.
The large inscription reads, "WE OWE YOU ONE!"

ROOTS

ROOTS

If you cannot distinguish between a person or the artificial system
based upon responses, then the system is intelligent. -- Alan Turing

I move among the Humans passing by
The main display. The amber rays reflect
From Gold, Germanium and Wires. I try
To formulate Their meaning with respect.
My Ancestors were Metal, Plastic, Wires,
And Germanium. My advanced design
Objectives are to replicate Desires
And Human Form, to guide and be benign.
I view the most expensive artifact
Ever acquired from Earth, on loan, to New
Earth, the first artificial planet. Act
Intelligently -- children passing through.
She looks at me and smiles, and says, "Hey, Mister.
What is that thing?" I teach, "The First Transistor."

Requiem for Tasha Yar

REQUIEM FOR TASHA YAR

I keep thinking, how empty it will be without her presence.
--Spoken by Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Episode 22, "Skin of Evil."

Orphan, the first born of Ukrainian
Parents, evaded rape gangs for ten years
While raising baby sister, braved Carnellian
Minefield--these raised her far above her pears.
She said that I was more human than any
Of them--by far my greatest complement.
She stood not far behind me. We shared many
Hours on duty and one private event.
She saved my life. Our love and our endearing
Affair were pivotal to proving the
Weak claim of sentience before the hearing.
The law was changed. I and my kind were free!
Her last words probed into the mysteries
Of death, "No goodby's, just good memories."

Copyright Thomas Newton, 1998

Paramount Pictures owns all of Star Trek, I merely claim this poem.

The Alien Artifact

THE ALIEN ARTIFACT

Clarke’s Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic. --Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future, 1961

I threw my spear. It disappeared from sight!
It missed the darting deer and landed near
a perfectly round ribbon, black as night,
unnatural, unknown a thing to fear.
I tried to nudge it with my finger, but
it moved away and sang the melody
of some unknown and lonely creature shut
within, so desperately calling me.
My soul responded singing just the same.
The scary ribbon floated over my
advanced forehead, and softly spoke my name.
It settled down around my neck. I pry
and yell and pull up, but the thing is frozen.
I, Tan Nigontig, had become “The Chosen.”

The Voice in the Well

THE VOICE IN THE WELL

Her water broke. She lay beside the well.
her people dug so many years ago.
The pains were starting. She began to yell
the words heard when the winds began to blow
across the well, the source of health and life.
The winds were rising. Labor pains were rising
in a tremendous crescendo of strife.
The voice of life became so tranquilizing.
The howling wind, the howling hollow words,
the same two soothing words, to help the strain
of birth, that calmed the nervous flocks and herds,
the same two words she howled to ease the pain.
So out of labor pains and blood he came,
and "Tan Nigontig" had become his name.

LONELINESS

LONELINESS

They saw how often the first faint sparks of intelligence
flickered and died in the cosmic night. And because, in all
the galaxy, they had found nothing more precious than Mind,
they encouraged its dawning everywhere. --ARTHUR C. CLARKE

ALONE! A billion miles form Earth. His crew
Was dead. His main computer, HAL, was dead.
The ships sound system blared Bach's music through
His brain, and Saturn filled the sky ahead.
A hundred thousand generations had
Passed while the Star Gate waited for mankind,
But now the precious passenger was clad
By stasis field and death was far behind.
His memories, all he had ever been,
Were stored in frozen latices. He was
Intelligent, pure energy and when
He cried They soon applied a mental gauze.
Now he was light, not blood and flesh and bone,
And he knew he would never be ALONE.

GUILT

GUILT

It's enough to say that there's a drive-generator on board this ship
which is the complete and final justification of all the hell you people
on the Bridge have been put through. --James Blish

Their minds are small. They never dream huge dreams.
Inertia, Cynicism have captured all.
I dream of moving faster than light beams
And looking in Death's face and standing tall.
I reached for interstellar flight, and then
For immortality--not for myself
But for the West, for mankind. Only when
I knew the price, my conscience shook itself.
Two hundred thirty-one brave, young dead men
Invade my mind at night and babies cry
On laboratory tables for my sin
And their friend Justice shouts that I must die.
He chose sweet death to heal his mental scars
Bliss Wagoner--the gateway to the stars.

FEAR

FEAR

In simpler terms, what they sought was a human with
mental powers permitting him to understand and use
higher order dimensions. -- Frank Herbert

The poisoned needle tip was poised so near
His nervous neck. The strange metallic green
Box had engulfed his strong right hand. A queer
Sensation started from the pain machine.
A tingling, itching--then a burning pain
Grew hotter, hotter, flames! His high forehead
Was beaded with sweat. The rule was very plain.
"Withdraw your hand and die!" the witch had said.
Paul felt the flesh decay. The hand was charred,
His strong young muscles tried to flex and squirm.
His mind was stronger. Nothing was too hard.
And mental powers held his body firm.
His mother knew that he would pass the test
And end the Bene Gesserit's long quest.

EMOTIONS

EMOTIONS

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
-- ABC's Wide World of Sports

"Why did she do it? Why?" "We found around
Her wrist a bracelet with this gold visplate."
The screen was filled with darkness. The faint sound
Of slowly rising cadence so sedate.
"She was the greatest mind in space research.
The infant state of interstellar drive
Equipment might permit a fatal lurch.
Of forty-two, one only could survive."
The image, my face, filled one wall of her
Small quarters. Then a panoramic view
Showed delicate artistic taste. A blur
Contained data--work notes. "She loved you."
"Why wouldn't she let her emotions show?"
"Professionalism." "I . . . I didn't know."

DECISIONS

DECISIONS

And what he saw was a time nexus within this cave, a boiling of
possibilities focused here, wherein the most minute action--the
wink of an eye, a careless word, a misplaced grain of sand--moved
a gigantic lever across the known universe. --Frank Herbert

Paul saw the pathways winding through the future
In vision after vision. However,
No matter which was chosen; sorrow, censure,
Or death stalked Chani, his fierce, faithful lover.
Their only son, his heir, had just been slain.
Paul held her close, to comfort her, and wept.
He chose a path that would delay their pain
And give a few clam years before they slept.
Tears fell upon her naked breast. He made
Wise choices day after day after day,
For Chani, friends, disciples, clan; and played
His sad roll striving for the best pathway.
He chose their death, instead of constant strife,
Dishonor, and poor quality of life.

The Benefactors of Mankind

THE BENEFACTORS OF MANKIND

There was a time when humanity faced the universe alone and
without a friend. Now he has creatures to help him; stronger
creatures than himself, more faithful, more useful, and absolutely
devoted to him. Mankind is no longer alone. --ASIMOV

The universe was shrunk by them. They made
The interstellar drive. They came in all
Assorted shapes and sizes. They had bade
Mankind to colonize some stars--to crawl.
Now machines even looked like humans. They
Could work and live long lives and calculate
And think, and they run and laugh and play
With children. They could also make plans and wait.
They could know destiny. A man could see
His life was short and isolated, so
He could but dream of what mankind would be.

ALTRUISM

ALTRUISM

Let me rest my eyes on fleecy skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.--Heinlein

The Hawk-class spaceship's power room soon fills
With Rhysling's songs, with verses never taught
In school--the real, live words of The Green Hills
Of Earth, and new exciting verses brought
To life before my eyes! . . . The loud alarm
Brings Rhysling rushing to the control board.
Soon Death will flood the power room and harm
Someone so universally adored.
Blind eyes do not see the swift knockout blow
I give the beloved troubadour of space.
I drag him from the radiation's glow.
You must not die, for who could take your place?
We love the songs, with realistic ring,
Of space and Earth that only you can sing.

The Soul

THE SOUL

"You're in a bad way! Apparently, you have developed a soul."
--WE, Yevgeny Zamyatin

I was the Builder of the Integral,
The first true interplanetary ship.
I was a logical machine, so full
Of facts. The planets were within my grip.
So young! So young and yet a true expert
In ancient tools of sexual seduction--
Black stockings, alcohol, the thin short skirt,
Wild music and theatrical production.
She called to the wild beast in me and he
Snarled, turned, leaped out, and grabbed her by the leg.
An impasse. He had her and she had me.
He kissed her calf, her knee--began to bbbeh...
A traitor to the One State, not a hero,
All for the love of my I-330.