HEAVENLY TIME OF HOPE -
BOOK I of
COSMOPOETRY DIARY IN THE PANDEMIC:
CHAPTER I (episodes 1-20)

Design: Florin Alexandru Stancu

1

LOOKING FOR THE STAR OF MAGI IN THE PANDEMIC
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

God, forgive me,
but after I saw the sunset
near the Children’s Palace Observatory
on December 24, 2020
(it was an opening of the sky like a wonder
after three weeks of cloudy weather),
for Christmas Night I imagined the Savior
as a doctor bringing the rescue vaccines
on a new Star of Magi,
and the first variant was Altair,
which I caught in the close park.

But Alpha Aquilae was not a realistic option,
it belonged to the Summer Triangle,
so I went to Central Bucharest,
where I saw a small Star of Magi
on the top of a pine tree
in front of the Palace of Parliament
(illuminated in the three colors
of the Romanian national flag),
then I found a bigger Star of Magi
on a pine tree near Saint Spyridon’s Old Church,
accompanied by the Crowned Moon.













Soon after that,
Santa Claus brought me
an unforgettable evening
with friends from the neighborhood of my youth
at the foot of my parents’ block,
under the same Crowned Moon
(although we were eight,
I photographed only “Engineer Sache”,
Marian, Mugur and Florin).

We commemorated “Uncle Costel”
(the oldest of us,
recently killed by coronavirus),
celebrated Christmas Night
and watched the natural satellite
(dressed as for the greatest Holiday).











Finally I returned home
shortly before the night quarantine,
and after midnight,
despite light pollution and fog,
I saw the Star of Magi of 2020 through my window:
it belonged to the Winter Triangle,
it was just Sirius!



2

WATCHING THREE PANDEMIC PICTURES
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Three pictures taken in Bucharest in 2020,
during the first part of the pandemic:
one with the sunset on March 20
(during the spring equinox,
shortly before the national quarantine),
one with a solar halo on April 24
(during the national quarantine
because of the first pandemic wave)
and one with the sunrise over the city on July 11
(during the first “relaxation”).

Three occasions in which I forgot the troubles
because the Sun was not dazzling,
but accessible.







3

A HOUSE ON THE STIRBEI VODA STREET
(Bucharest, November 6, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

A modest, small house
with the Sun and a flower -
cosmic quintessence

















4

BUCHAREST, OCTOBER 24, 2020
Astro-photo-haiku by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

To be embraced by
the Moon one cloudy night - just
the dream of a leaf







5

WALKING WITH THE MOON AND MARS THROUGH TARGOVISTE
Astro-photo-poem by Valentin Grigore

November 2, 2020.
Evening sky above the Old Center.
Mars and a 22-degree halo around the Moon.
A sign of changing weather.

November 23, 2020.
Mars, again called to the coronation of the Moon,
this time even since the First Square.
In an urban habitat.

November 25, 2020.
In the Old Centre, with deserted streets,
only the heavenly bodies can afford to meet,
such as the Moon and Mars above the City Hall.
A police car stopped near me
and checked me if I wear a mask on my face.
If the policemen checked the close restaurants,
they might have had a surprise.
But probably they thought that those who photograph the stars
are more dangerous.

November 27, 2020.
Autumn landscapes.
The Moon, Mars and a piece of halo.
The crowned and insane Moon,
perhaps because of the longing for Mars' past brightness.
And a selfie with me near the Princely Court.

















6

ALARM IN THE BUCHAREST DELTA
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

On September 27, 2020
an alarming TV channel was extremely frantic
to spread bad news about the pandemic
and made me think that the entire solar system was contaminated.

I was so worried
that I went to the Bucharest Delta
to look at the sky from a wider field.

Only after I saw people protecting themselves
through masks and social distancing
I could remark that nature was unchanged,
the Sun was good and the Moon was fine,
so I returned home for a good nocturnal sleep.



















7

IN A TOWER BLOCK
(Bucharest, October 12, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Wonderful morning
great invasion of colors
wonderful sunrise





















8

MORNING TWILIGHT IN THE YOUTH NEIGHBORHOOD
(Bucharest, October 13, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Fantastic twilight
unimaginable colors
and the source of light















9

SUNRISE
(Bucharest, October 15, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

The Moon and Venus
leaving the zone. Some movement
just under the bridge



















10

AT THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL
(Bucharest, September 25 - November 29, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

“You are the one who should be questioned
in the Alexandru Obregia psychiatric hospital,
not me,”
wrote me an officially crazy patient,
“I just wanted to steal the limited gold of the Earth,
but you’ve already stolen from the inexhaustible gold of the Moon
for a few times!”

“You are probably right,”
I replied,
“I was luckier…”





















11

SOLAR FACETES
(Bucharest, October 21-30, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

For a while I wanted to catch
a halo around the Sun.
I couldn’t do it
but in exchange I caught
more interesting auras,
as if a superior intelligence
thought for me.



















12

CROWNED MOON SEASON
(Bucharest, October 31, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe







If you penetrate clouds,
don’t stop!

If clouds block you,
don’t stop!

It is a difference between
a lampion
and a champion.







13

CLOUDY CUPOLA
(Bucharest, October 13, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

My last walk without a mask in the Youth Park.
I tried to catch the sunset and the Moon,
but the clouds were so dense
that the observatory dome of the Children’s Palace
became not a reason for action,
but my astral improvisation.



















14

LUNAR CUPOLA
(Bucharest, October 20, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Finally, I snatched myself from
the light of the electric tree
and could feel at home
when I saw the Moon
near the observatory dome.











15

SOLAR CUPOLA
(Bucharest, October 19, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

The Sun came down
near the observatory dome,
which seemed suspended between
the descending light
and the first steps
of the night.

















16

CUPOLA, THE LAST MORNING WALTZ
(Bucharest, October 22, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Looking for the best position of Morning Mars
through light pollution
near the observatory dome,
I said:

Not like that…



It’s a little better that way…



That’s it!



17

SNOWY CUPOLA
(Bucharest, December 5 and 9, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

The snowy Moon suggested me
a walk through the Children’s World Park.

Why not? -
I said and went there, finding
the frisky resistance of the people,
the delicate resistance of the flowers
and the steady resistance of the observatory dome.



















18

BUCHAREST, OCTOBER 21, 2020
Astro-photo-haiku by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Glorious moment
just in the autumn colors
the Sun’s crucifix







19

ELECTRIC JUPITER
(Bucharest, October 26, 2020)
Astro-photo-poem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

The Children’s World Park is open for everybody:
people, heavenly bodies, colors…

But once I was worried that Jupiter wanted to become
red like Mars or blue like Terra.

Fortunately, a few kind girls went right to him to calm him
and brought normalcy back to the park.









20

BUCHAREST, OCTOBER 19, 2020
Astro-photo-tipuristrigatura by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

I would say that the Sun’s traces
Are finer than many faces.










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