Literature and Astronomy: Worlds Collided through Spoken Poetry

Written by Marlaine Tagayuna

Contributions of Mayumi Bacani, Chio Matias, Therese Custodio, and Franco Goze

The concepts of literature and astronomy have always been thought to be parallel worlds never colliding, wherein one is considered a form of human expression and the other a study of everything in the universe beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. However, these two worlds are more interconnected than they seem. Throughout history, astronomy has greatly inspired literary works, incorporating bodies of the vast galaxy as symbols and metaphors to create a sense of awe and wonder in the readers.  In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo says, “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun,” describing her warm beauty and comparing her to a light amidst the darkness; a source of hope. Likewise, astronomy is able to develop through literature. Through words, people learn about the world that lies beyond; they gain the ability to travel to places unimaginable through the power of their imagination, fueled by words that paint vast pictures.

On the 29th of November 2024, four winners were awarded for the Spoken Poetry competition, one of the activities held for the “Let’s STEEM Up!” Celebration. The competition served as an avenue for the students to creatively express astronomical concepts through literature, through spoken word.

The third placer, Mayumi Bacani from 12 - St. John, submitted an entry entitled “Don't Forget From Where You Came.” Her piece touches on narratives on how everyone belongs to and originated in one universe made of “you and me.” But, more than that, she states that “you are not in the universe but you are the universe” and that every person, no matter how little as a speck of dust, is capable of creating big things “because just like the universe, we are infinite.”

“Don’t forget from where you came

You come from the ocean that is tame

The wide blue skies

The hot ball of fire 

The core of the earth

You came from the universe.”

The second placer, Chio Matias of 11 - St. Lorenzo, created an entry entitled “My Stars, My Constellation.” Her piece focused on the context of interconnectedness and the importance of knowing one’s origin. Throughout her poem, she tells her story of curiosity and discovery as she traverses through the course of life. Five-year-old her was curious about the universe, about the unimaginable, with questions floating in her little mind. Seven-year-old her found comfort and solace in the wonders of the universe. She related herself with the radiance of the world beyond and found love for it. Ten-year-old her felt lost and puzzled, like a speck in the endless void. Fifteen-year-old her perceived the universe to be a blur and “felt like the moon, lonely in its flight.” She seeks answers in the vast cosmos, yet “the void’s so silent, so eerily divine.” Now that she’s sixteen, she states that she’s finally starting to hear what once were unclear whispers.

“Each star, a story untold 

My anecdotes, both young and old 

Pieces of me, shining in glee  

Such wonders I can never flee

The constellation dazzling in plain sight 

Was me, shining so bright.” 

Two students tied for first place–Therese Custodio of 11 - St. Ignatius and Franco Goze of 11 - St. Pedro.

Therese Custodio’s spoken word entry entitled “Wake Up” tells a narrative on Mother Nature and her slow deterioration, as well as her people's ignorance toward it. “Deaf to the truths, I turned away, Blind to the damage, silent each day.” Her piece raises awareness of Mother Nature’s rivers running dry, her forests falling, and her oceans sighing. But, more than raising awareness, “Wake Up” is also a call to play our role as stewards of God, united through Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’.”

“For in saving Mother Earth, we save our own,

A shared, beloved, sacred home.”

Franco Goze’s entry entitled “Oh How Glorious” focuses on the uniqueness of the universe and the existence of only one. His eerie, psychological thriller entry presents three versions of himself, all with different sentiments on the secrets of the universe. The first talks about the presence of a million other universes and galaxies that we don’t know of. “There are others that are you, a billion more realities in the distant void. Your reality is a mere disguise of your infinite.” The second character contrasts the very sentiment of the first and talks about only one mirror universe existing–a duality. “You are me and I am you, a parallel of who you are.” The final character, considerably the most realistic, speaks about the existence of only one universe. “The universe is everything and it is within one reality.” He ends his piece with the lines:

“You are yourself

There is only one you

You are one

You are one.”

From questions of our origin, the burning curiosity toward the vast unknown, the cries of Mother Earth, and the existence of parallel universes, the Spoken Word Poetry competition of this year’s Let’s STEEM Up Celebration truly collided the worlds of literature and astronomy, making the distant tangible with words, questions, and one’s boundless creativity.