Songs of Distant Earth

Songs of Distant Earth*

That ephemeral bubble,
Forever expanding,
Ripping through the firmament,
Carries our thoughts,
Carries our lives,
Carries our humanity.

Since Marconi first crackled with Tesla's idea
Our civilisation is laid bare
For all to hear.
Within this sphere
Of light,
More than two light centuries across
Our civilization is there
For others to see, to hear,
to taste? to smell?
We cannot know how they will perceive
Our infant rantings
In the electro-magnetic ether.

Can we hope they will understand
This, our first shout?
Will we hear their whispered reply
Drowned in the noise of the universe?
Only time will tell.

What will they make of the news-casts
Of war, of famine, of disasters?
What will they make of
Our fantasy, our drama, our humour?
Only time will tell.

Will they rush to our aid?
Will they take advantage of our weakness?
Will they just keep away?
Will they put us into quarantine?
Only time will tell.

Our little light bubble says who we are,
Says what we are,
Shows where we are,
Or where we were a century ago.
We have moved on
In more ways than place
In more ways than time.

If they ever come to challenge our weakness,
We may, by then, be strong.
If they ever come to ridicule our simplicity,
We may, by then, be formidable.
If they ever come to enjoy our humour,
We may, by then, have lost it.

The universe sings a song of eternity,
But our song has just begun.
We must ensure our music of the spheres
Is in tune with the universe.
We must ensure our little bubble of light,
Expanding at one third of a million, million
Millimetres per second,
Is seen only for the good it shows.
The Songs of Distant Earth
Must shine with the light of truth.

*Note: "Songs of Distant Earth" is a book by Arthur C. Clarke, and a
tribute album by Mike Oldfield.