Other Voices Magazine

The Monthlies

Winner May 2008

“I can tell you what it’s like, but you already know, or will…”

- Tim Bowling, How the World Looks After a Death.

I Am the Heart and Soul of My Universe
by Marilyn Parker

“I can tell you what it’s like, but you already know, or will after I have introduced myself”; I am a flaming majestic orb adorning the heart and soul of my universe. I was created billions of years ago, long before life on earth existed. My consistency is a hot gaseous ball. I could be an unimaginable force of mayhem; as long as I remain whole, mankind is safe. My mighty size dominates our solar system, being 1.4 million kilometers in diameter, a 100 times more than the Earths diameter, with a mass equivalent to about 333,420 Earths. Compared to a two layered cake, my solar atmosphere is mostly hydrogen gas. The lower tier is a wheel of colour, and my royal crown reflects the circle of light around me, bursting and catapulting streams of solar flares into eternity. I live a tumultuous lonely existence, nothing can come too close to me, I am untouchable. My bluish core is a raging nuclear furnace, with a surface temperature of 5,500 Celsius. My magnetism attracts smaller orbs, the Sun Children, my friends, who worship me from afar, and run circles around my perimeter.

My closest companion is Mercury, he is small and fast, whipping around me in 88 days up to speeds of 56 kilometers per second unabling him to be sucked into my fiery clutches.

Venus my female friend, so pure and white, is sometimes called a morning and evening star. Her thick clouds withhold mysteries, for she is one of the brightest planets in the heavenly night. Her atmosphere is 95%carbon dioxide; my beams of light are caught and held creating a giant greenhouse effect.

There is my stable old friend Mother Earth with her kaleidoscope of hues. She is a mere 93 million miles away from me. Planet Earth bestows huge bodies of water. The population of mankind exerts itself beyond capacity, a fragile balance that saddens me.

The Moon Maiden has no light of her own, so she acquires mine. She is scared with large craters from when she was bombarded by meteorites which gave her a unique characteristic, and on certain occasions she imitates my appearance, with softer cooler glows.

Brilliant red planet Mars, my fourth friend, may have sustained some life form at one time. Being far away from me, Mars has a diminished amount of light and heat. Rugged Mars is dotted with mountains, valleys, plateaus, craters and the sand dunes which are red due to high concentration of iron.

One of the largest planets, Jupiter, has a diameter of 88,770 miles. Jupiter’s spectacular belts of colour: blue, brown, pink, red, orange, yellow and the great red spot. Make it a sight to behold. His internal source of energy is great, but no greater than mine.

Old man Saturn, the ringed planet, is surrounded by 18 moons, boulders and ice particles. This stormy planet has wild winds that are known as jet streams which read 1,770 kilometers per hour.

The seventh planet in my solar system is Uranus; it appears to look like a bull’s eye. In Roman mythology he is portrayed as the God of the Heavens. About for times greater than Earth, he orbits me at a distance of 2.87 billion kilometers, and with temperatures of -214 Celsius, Uranus is very cold.

Neptune is 4.5 billion kilometers away. The methane gas has given him the colour of pale blue. On his planet, storms the size of Earth rage. The winds on Earth are gentle breezes compared to fierce winds on Neptune. He orbits me very slowly, once in about 165 years.

Pluto is one of the smallest in my galaxy; he is becoming a dim memory as the Earthlings have replaced him with another planet. Pluto’s secrets are locked away forever, goodbye my little friend.

I am the centre of attention. Poets adore me. Artists splash me across their canvas using colours of red to golds. Humans love to watch me at days end as I fade below the earth’s horizon. I am the most important star in the universe and without me Earth would no longer exist as we know it. I vitalize the old girl giving her warmth, light, energy, food and oxygen. There would be no weather without me.

I AM LIFE ITSELF. I AM THE SUN.

Marilyn Parker was born in England and immigrated to Canada in 1976. She is the mother of one daughter and grandmother to one Grandson. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, drawing and writing. Passionate about the environment, it often shows in her writings. She feels we all have a part to play in it’s protection for future generations.

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