A second coming
 

Summer nights in England, a lazy moon rising

Through the trees, a cosy chair to lounge back

In and a little something on ice to gladden the

Heart. A perfect time and place to ponder the

Stars, search the heavens and gasp as arresting

Wonders race across the sky leaving trails of

Fascination in their wake

Summer, a wonderful time to contemplate the

Miracle of the heavens and therein see all manner

Of possibilities. Is there life beyond earth? Science

Thinks so, their bet being firmly fixed on the odds

Nay likelihood of something wriggling wherever

Water flows, but, as for ‘life as we know it Jim,’

I wouldn’t hold my breath

So many stars, so many planets and yet here we are

On an island in space seemingly alone. But what if

In some far corner of the universe there are people

Sat looking up at the stars as amazed as I am? People

Just like us, people who started their technological

Journey at around the same time as our own and

Who similarly look to the stars for answers

Might their spaceware already be zooming its way in

Our direction? Not here yet and not for a while perhaps

But what if it was, what would we do and how would

We receive it? Imagine it, the possibility of another race

Of greedy, angry, weapon-bearing aggressors; warmongers

Like so many on earth intent upon plundering all in their

Path. It would be a Hell of a call to openly acknowledge

Such an arrival, best smash it to bits and pretend it never

Happened eh?
 

Casting fear to one side, what if by chance there were to

Be a far off civilisation sat pondering the stars as I am

Tonight? Much as I like the idea I fancy the likelihood

Of a distant civilisation on the same scale as our own a

Little far-fetched, but, let us be generous and allow for

The possibility of another world fortunate enough to

Start their technological journey at or around the same

Time and pace as our own

Might we then expect to one day see signs of alien

Explorer probes heading in our direction and ultimately

Their handiwork coming to rest on our soil as our craft

Have elsewhere? No sign yet, but surely it is not beyond

The bounds of possibility that such a craft may still be

On its way. As for the people who launched it, who

Knows? Perhaps their world ended aeons ago and there

Is nothing to worry about after all

UFOs aside, time and distance aside, the people I have

In mind are a kindly folk, like the best of the best on

Earth. Less likely to put themselves first in a puffed-up

Bid for superiority and more likely to fill space with

Their dreams, their goodwill and their hand in friendship

Spotting such a familiar craft winging its way our way

Would I think be nothing less than a second coming

Bringing with it not war, but vital answers to age-old

Questions, elevating our understanding of life on earth

Life in space, and God willing, the wisdom behind it all

Ah well, my glass is dry and supper calls …

© Joseph G Dawson
20/08/2018