Ghazal for Astrolabes

In March 2026, a group of creative writers came together in the Museum to write a Ghazal inspired by astrolabes.

The ghazal poem is an intricate, richly symbolic poetry form that originated in Arabia during the 600s CE.

Under the guidance of Megan Kerr from The Writers' Greenhouse, each writer crafted a single couplet which together form this beautiful poem.

Behind the glass, a bright and brass display: the sky
in glinting discs. Millennia of meaning overlay the sky.

Engraved embracing leaves of brass and flaming stars,
horizon, tiny lines and spirals spray the sky.

Move the dials, line up the stars,
control the time, how can I pay the sky?

The astrolabe is heavy in my hand.
Tell me, how do you weigh the sky?

Dark trails of decay on the sky,
fingers lightly at play on the sky.

Circles in circles, tracing lines of azimuth
sealing sacred time flat, trapped stays the sky.

I stand, in awe, as the thousands before
who have worshipped her reign, the sky.

Gold and silver, wood, ivory and brass
their object though the same: to play the sky.

This seeking to capture essence of time, ray of prayer,
minutiae of elegance, sacred engravings, stay the sky.

The great cycle of the heavens
stains our souls and weighs the sky.

Fallen in flight. A net of leaves.
Frozen figures play in the sky.

Magic brass in Persian pocket:
a pocket watch of the universe, the day, the sky.

Rotating dance of celestial spheres
all perfectly measured asway the sky.

Admired, migrated, forgotten.
A star’s light, the sun’s ray, the sky.

Like a lake reflecting a ray of sunshine,
a golden disc reflects the day in the sky.

Hushed in awe of ancient holy artistry,
seeking to find meaning, to capture time and stay the sky.