Galactic arms curl
by Quinn Clark
Into tight spirals for warmth—
Sometimes, so do we.
‘Yearning’ is inspired by the hot gas and plasma present between galaxies and within galactic clusters, as well as a sentimental connection to human thermoregulation. Although this hot intracluster gas ought to cool off, observations show a contradictory reduced cooling rate. Some astronomers theorise that this prolonged heat and turbulence could be due to interactions with matter flowing from supermassive black holes.
This poem first appeared in The Best Haiku Anthology 2024 published by Haiku Crush.
Further reading:
‘Staying Warm: The Hot Gas in Clusters of Galaxies’, 2014, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, available: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/staying-warm-hot-gas-clusters-galaxies
Author bio:
Quinn Clark is a poet/author from England. An astronomy enthusiast, they have classified thousands of galaxies with the Zooniverse’s Galaxy Zoo project. Their poems have been published with New Writing North, Haiku Crush, The Customs House (as runner-up to The Terry Kelly Poetry Prize 2022), and Tour de Moon.
You can find out more about Quinn at their website: https://quinnclark.co.uk and by following them @adashofseaglass on Twitter, Bluesky & Instagram.