Poem: "One Ship Tall"

[ysabetwordsmith]

In 2007, the Science Fiction Poetry Association hosted a sonnet contest. "One Ship Tall" won first place, and it was originally published on the SFPA website along with the second and third place winners. It was later reprinted in my book, Prismatica: Science Fiction Poetry Spanning the Spectrum. If you're new to reading speculative poetry, you might enjoy my short essay "How to Analyze a Science Fiction Poem."

I like the sonnet form because it gives the poem a strong structure. It can be written in one stanza (any version), two stanzas (for the Italian version with an octave and a sestet) or four stanzas (for the English version with three quatrains and a couplet). These divisions traditionally correspond to different subtopics within the poem. For instance, "One Ship Tall" uses three quatrains to lay out the visionary dimensions of faster-than-light travel, then the couplet compares FTL to heavier-than-air flight. The sonnet's classical connections also lend a sense of grandeur, making it ideal for serious topics and large scales.

One Ship Tall

Some folks just say it will not happen soon,
While others say we can’t do it at all.
Let them give up, and settle for the moon.
The dream of FTL is one ship tall.
It doesn’t matter if the chance is small –
Just build the rocket, turn it on, and ride.
The wormholes and the ramjets sound the call.
The dream of FTL is one mind wide.
Make fun of all our efforts, mock our pride;
But something in us stirs and will not sleep.
Sly laser engines beckon us aside.
The dream of FTL is one heart deep.
“Impossible!” you say. Perhaps it’s true.
Thus our ancestors heard – and yet they flew.

Comments

[jjhunter]

I like the repetition with variation of the 'one ship tall'/'one mind wide'/'one heart deep'. (Am also amused at the three dimensions reference.)

“Impossible!” you say. Perhaps it’s true.
Thus our ancestors heard – and yet they flew.

This is magnificent.

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I like the repetition with variation of the 'one ship tall'/'one mind wide'/'one heart deep'. <<

Parallels and repetitions are among my favorite poetic tools. Sometimes I offset them slightly by changing a word or two; other times I echo an exact phrase. It's a good way to emphasize a main point, or to walk around it and examine it from different angles.

>>(Am also amused at the three dimensions reference.)<<

I love the flexibility of language. I often take advantage of a word's multiple meanings within a poem, in this case the ordinary physical dimensions vs. the different layers of reality or advanced physics.

>>This is magnificent.<<

I have long been a fan of science history. Looking at that tends to leave one with the impression that nothing is impossible, because so much has been declared impossible -- and later done.

Re: Thank you!

[jjhunter]

Parallels and repetitions are among my favorite poetic tools. Sometimes I offset them slightly by changing a word or two; other times I echo an exact phrase. It's a good way to emphasize a main point, or to walk around it and examine it from different angles.

Have you ever written a villanelle? I just wrote my first one two weeks ago, and it was definitely an experience!

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Villanelle is one of my favorite forms, along with sestina. I love repeating/interlocking poetry in general. Here are a couple of my villanelles:

"This Cursed Gift"
http://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/1409117.html

"The Bonecage"
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/973401.html