My Poem “The Helix Nebula”

Whenever I look at an image
of the beautiful Helix nebula –
an image captured of an region of space
within the constellation of Aquarius,
almost 695 light years from Earth –
I, like many others, not only see
a beautiful planetary nebula
that looks almost similar in appearance
to both the “Cat’s Eye Nebula” or the “Ring Nebula” –
but I also see what looks like some kind
of celestial eye looking back at me,
because the more that you look
at the Helix nebula the more that
you see an image like that of
the iris of an eye,
and which is most likely why
the Helix nebula’s colourful and vibrant
blue, green, gold, and red appearance
when seen through the filters
of the visual spectrum
is often referred to as the “Eye of God”:
because once you see it you never forget it.

My Poem ‘Eye-Catching’

City lights at night;
shining multi-coloured baubles on a Christmas tree;
the sparkle in someone’s look that catches your eye;
flashing billboards and illuminated signs
that are like special-effect explosions from a movie.

Things designed to stand-out;
colours that always elicit an effect;
emotions that flood all your senses
from the instant that they are first felt;
beautiful creations that are perfect.

Birds, animals, insects, fish,
dolphins, mammals, humans,
all have a sense of beauty and attraction
and that can be explicitly seen
when they are attempting to attract the attention of a mate;
everyone and every thing uses a combination of many things –
sound, colour, movement, interest, smell, intuition –
to drive the sense of their opposite sex wild,
like opening up an overwhelming emotional floodgate.

Nature teaches us that nothing happens by accident;
instinct shows us that no matter how strong we are,
or how much we resist,
we can be captured and compelled to do things out of the ordinary;
the shining white moon above teaches us
that depending on the time of the month
even the way we think can be altered,
and in turn certain things can even affect the way we act;
love teaches us that there is nothing else like it
in the entire universe, and its intensity,
depth, feeling, and complexity,
is beyond any psychology or scientific theory.

Emotional attachment is a great and wonderful thing;
a persons reaction to even the sound of music playing
can tell you so many things;
our visual perception reaches into our soul sometimes
and creates a reaction deep within us
that can explode out of us like lava from a volcano,
and it can feel truly amazing.
The way are brains are wired, and what we think,
and what we do with what we see,
all depends on what we find fascinating,
exciting, mesmerizing, and eye-catching.