FATED NEBULAE

Like supernovae artists,

clouds disperse behemoth art,

as stars annihilate.

“Sombrero,” “Crab” and “Horsehead”

populate the gallery of our known universe.

Ghostscript 24 bit color image dump Ghostscript 24 bit color image dump

There’s “Eagle” and “Pillars Of Creation,”

There’s “Ant,” “Tarantula” and “Pelican.”

There’s even one called “Big Running Chicken.”

One slightly resembles our great nation.

These interstellar Rorschach tests

reveal the shapes we recognize

within our world, like “Hamburger,”

“Butterfly” and “Pinwheel,”

but some come from guts of stars that are hurled.

Each may have destroyed some sentient race, but,

“Look! It’s pretty, like a rose in space!”

condensed version: