Cosmic Jewel Cluster

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             What is the fabric of this vision,
             this stellar cluster in the air—
             strings vibrating with grand precision
             in symphony beyond compare?

             Besides M-theory reflection,
             NGC 4755
             or the Jewel Box star collection,
             is a bright sidereal hive

             from the same huge cloud of creation
             as seen in this image wide-field
             abuzz with astral animation
             in ESO depiction revealed.

             The assemblage by gravity bound
             mid the vast universal flux
             with our own naked eye can be found
             in the constellation of Crux.

             Shown close, those colors of precious gems
             caused its nickname by John Herschel
             in view of the hues the grouping hems,
             unlike Mozart listings Köchel

             which are simply chronological
             to catalog and convey them
             for purposes pedagogical,
             not vividly to portray them.

             But lest I wander too far astray
             into classic panegyric
             where music of spheres is holding sway,
             I’d best return to my lyric

             about this ‘piece of jewelry’ fine,
             ‘superb’ and ‘fancy’, as noted
             back in his 1830s headline
             by astronomer devoted.

             Lapis lazuli, coral, and pearl,
             seem to scintillate overhead
             in a setting the heavens unfurl
             with cobbled lanes where poets tread.

             Stars supergiant add splendid sheen
             of pale blue and ruby-red tints
             to this brilliant panoramic scene
             which of infinite reaches hints.

             While gazing at wonderments on high
             might make mortal beings feel small,
             still, of the treasures of earth and sky
             our lives are most precious of all.

             ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on,’
             thus the Bard of Avon has said.
             This is the stage that life is played on
             where Nature’s great fabric is spread.

             Yet may I fathom this vision deep
             which enlightenment can bestow,
             ere my life is rounded with a sleep,
             via Nam Myoho Renge Kyo…


             ~ Harley White

          

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Inspiration and image for poem ~ Wide field image of the Jewel Box (ground-based image)

Inspiration and image for poem ~ Wide field image of the Jewel Box

More info ~ NGC 4755 - Jewel Box - Open Cluster...

More info ~ Opening up a colorful cosmic Jewel Box...

More info ~ Jewel Box (star cluster)...

Further info ~ Open cluster...

Also ~ Köchel listing and pronunciation of Köchel (which rhymes with Hershel)...

Plus ~ “The Tempest”: Act 4, Scene 1 ~ by William Shakespeare

Further inspiration derived from the teachings and writings of Nichiren Daishōnin…

Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō means to devote our lives to and found them on (Nam[u]) the Utterness of the Dharma (Myōhō) [entirety of existence, enlightenment and unenlightenment] permeated by the underlying white lotus flower-like mechanism of the interdependence of cause, concomitancy and effect (Renge) in its whereabouts of the ten [psychological] realms of dharmas [which is every possible psychological wavelength] (Kyō).

The reason that we continually recite Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō

Image and explanation ~ NGC 3132, also known as the Eight-Burst Nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula, is a bright and extensively studied planetary nebula in the constellation Vela. Its distance from Earth is estimated at about 550 pc. or 2,000 light-years.

Wide Field Image of the Jewel Box ~ This image of the well-known NGC 4755 cluster or Jewel Box was taken with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. It highlights the cluster and its rich surroundings in all their multicolored glory. The field of view is 20 arcminutes across. The picture is based on images obtained through B, V and I filters.

Credit: ESO