BETELGEUSE
James P. Kotsybar
Big, Orange Ball Of Hot Air
An elderly giant, beyond your time, you were the candidate most thought might blow; you fit the classic, tragic paradigm.
All focused on you, expecting a show …
“The hotter the star, the briefer its span.” So, when you
lately began to look dim, we hoped to bear witness as you began to detonate, shrinking as a prelim.
Now, though, that all the data’s assembled, we know that, though you seem dimmer to us, you’re the same sun you’ve always resembled, you just obscured our view with veils of dust.
Your supernova meltdown’s missed, because your belched
out gas is all it seemed it was.
James P. Kotsybar
James P. Kotsybar is a poet whose work bridges science and lyricism, bringing cosmology, physics, and human emotion into formal verse. His poems have appeared in publications including those of the Society of Classical Poets, with forthcoming work in Scientific American. Through his ongoing project Bard of Mars, he has created an extensive body of poetry exploring the universe with intellectual rigor and imaginative reach. His writing seeks clarity without sacrificing wonder, grounding abstract concepts in lived experience. He lives in California, where he continues to develop new poetic forms and pursue the intersection of science, philosophy, and art.