Jan Matejko: Arrowhead Union High School- Special Ekphrastic Showcase

The Astronomer Copernicus, or, Conversations with God, by Jan Matejko (Poland) 1872

Editor's Note: 
The Ekphrastic Review is always pleased to publish the ekphrastic work of creative writing students at Arrowhead Union High School, thanks to an ongoing partnership with teachers Liz Jorgensen & Terri Carnell. It is wonderful and exciting to see the amazing talent and work of students invited into ekphrasis.

**

The Stars Talk Back 
 
Copernicus sits alone, surrounded by his thoughts
Creating a mess, alone in a world of uncertainty. 
His eyes are weak, covered by the agony of confusion
 
The books he worked so tirelessly on, sitting, screaming. 
He begs the books to help him
To give him the answers he so desperately seeks
With each loud plea, the symphony of silence increases its melody.
 
His maps that look like the human mind, mesmerizing, breathtaking.
He refocuses his cries to these labyrinths, he cannot find his way through.
 
Lost like a lover in a world without anyone to care for.
Scared like a child, crying out for their mother, lost.
Confused like a deer, blindly staring into its demise. 
 
After his body had given up and was ready to quit.
After he had given everything he had, he needed his mind and soul to be cleansed. 
As he sat, staring at the forsaken sky that he could not grasp. 
His ears were blessed with the words “let your requests be made known to God”
 
Carson Borkowicz
 
**
 
An Ekphrastic Poem on Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God
 
The beginning of night, in Frombork’s tower,
Copernicus kneeling, the extraterrestrial stars in his gaze.
Shadows from the cathedral, empowered,
Seeing Copernicus examine the sky's maze.
 
The heliocentric model, as seen through his eyes,
Hidden cosmos tucked away in the light.
The universe reimagined, beneath the skies,
As the night reveals the majestic sight; the night.
 
Matejko’s brush portrays a stance,
The prodigy is in love with the skies.
The night sky can put you in a trance,
In each setting of light, a new sight arises. 
 
Symmetry and light frame the scene,
In Jagiellonian’s hall, his insight calls.
Resembling a beacon for those where the truth is seen, 
The word of God is the reason for all.
 
Cadence Stuart
 
**
 
Truth Revealed
 
“Is it true? 
Is this how it works?”
 
Curiosity, it is a human trait,
One that all humans experience,
But not all can act on it forever.
 
We illustrate, we make conclusions,
We invent, we solve problems,
We look to the heavens,
With an expression of wonder;
We ask questions.
 
We build to look into space,
To see the stars and planets,
Wondering what reality truly is:
“God, are you there?”
 
The little dots of light, hardly visible in this age,
Shined bright amongst the spires of the churches,
But we cannot explore their truth,
Lest we be subject to Satan’s urges.
(If you must know, that’s a 15th-16th century Church thing)
 
But when we finally reach the end,
Is when we see the light of His work.
What was told is a lie.
His true universe in all its glory…
 
Shown to only one.
 
Jason Brammeier
 
**
 
Celestial Conversations
 
In the quiet of celestial thoughts,  
Jan Matejko's brush  
the sage of heavens,  
where stars whisper secrets 
and galaxies spin tales.
 
A scholar peers into the abyss,  
his gaze set on foreign realms,  
conversing with the divine 
amidst the tapestry of cosmos,  
where constellations align.
 
With each brushstroke, 
a dialogue unfolds  
between humanity and eternity,  
as the scholar unravels mysteries  
of orbiting spheres.
 
In the soft brilliance of the lantern,  
truths flare like nebulae, 
revealing the dance of planets  
and the cadence of celestial time,  
where mysteries unfold.
 
The scholar's expression, 
carved with the wisdom of ages,  
holds the weight of heavenly wonders,  
his mind a beacon  
amidst the vast expanse he meditates.
 
In Matejko's masterpiece, 
I uncover a symphony of stars,  
a hymn to the boundless sky 
and the enduring quest 
that lifts humanity high.
 
Izzie Catalano
 
**
 
The Stars
 
The stars, bright jewels of the sky, glimmer,
shining enough to light the night sky,
mocking us with their beauty.
 
They taunt, “I know how everything works,
and you don’t,
you probably never will.”
 
Atop the cathedral, you try to understand.
You want to know where they come from, 
and if they will ever leave.
 
You want to know what they have seen.
The building of the pyramids?
The first human?
The beginning of the world even?
 
They never answer, not truly.
Still, you climb the creaky stairs each night,
document all that you see with meticulous detail,
in hopes that they may one day 
reveal just one secret.
 
Frances Corry
 
**
​
A God Outside Ours
 
In the cluttered space of the observatory, books lie open to the sky, perhaps once studied but now left sitting and dusty. Various tools lean against the balcony, some recently used, some that have been lying there for weeks. The air swirls with the scent of parchment and faint metal from the Astronomer’s instruments. 
 
Tonight, no different than many others, the Astronomer stands before his telescope. The lenses that have been polished and put into place by his own hand are now focused toward the heavens. He adjusts the view with fluidity that came with years of practice, turning to the places where he seeks to find answers. 
 
The observatory is silent save the occasional rustle of papers being unsettled by the wind and the soft squealing of finely greased knobs being turned. Past the view of the balcony lies Frombork Cathedral, despite the vastness of the structure, the observatory lies higher, the balcony providing a clear view over the tallest spiral. 
 
Outside, past everything known to mankind, lies the unknown. Stars that twinkle with unwavering brilliance and a moon that appears so close you could almost touch it if you jumped just high enough. The Astronomer gazes out fascinated, wishing to find out everything he can about the world beyond his.
 
In his solitude, he feels a connection, an answer, to something greater than himself. He reaches out to hold onto it, feeling a sense of purpose that seems to go beyond the earth and into the heavens where he searches so desperately. At that moment, the Astronomer grasps an understanding of the universe. He unravels its mysteries and listens to its tellings like a dialogue with God. 
 
Not the God that is told of in the scriptures he has followed all his life, but the deity that is revealed through all of the Astronomer’s searching of sciences and mathematics. Each of his observations, each calculation, was a step closer to this moment, to deciphering the divinity of the heavens. 
 
In this divine moment of clarity, the wind picks up and scatters the Astronomer’s papers and calculations around the observatory. The moment is broken and the Astronomer stumbles back into the balcony, in awe of what he just experienced. He slowly begins to pick up the things that have been misplaced.
 
This universe does not yield these moments easily, it took the Astronomer years of work and scrutiny to finally experience his first of few breakthroughs. Now, alone with only the wind and the threat of the sun close to rising, the Astronomer sits in silent contentment. 
 
Here, amidst the hum of the universe and the secrets that he has yet to discover, he feels the closest to this God he felt a moment ago. This God is not up in the sky as a distant, secretive being but as something right next to him. A presence that occurs in every corner of existence, whether known or unknown, it always seems to be there. 
 
Under the gaze of the cosmos, the Astronomer continues his conversation with God in a way that only the two can understand. Many others can try, but each needs to discover his own God just as was done in the balcony observatory. 

Lara Manter
 
**
 
City of Secrets

In the dimly lit streets of a city covered in shadows and whispers, where the lights flicker and the air hums with tension, there exists a figure known only as a vigilante. His real name was lost to the alleys years ago, along with a past scarred by injustice and betrayal. He fiercely guards a secret that would scare everyone, but it doesn’t scare him. It only brings him questions.
 
Tonight, as the city sleeps fitfully under a blanket of stars obscured by urban haze, the vigilante moves with purpose. His footsteps echo against the brick walls, a rhythmic cadence that speaks of determination. The bright flashing lights of police cars, like stars in the sky, and ambulance sirens, like howls of wolves, dwindle, fading as the sun starts to consume the moon.
 
He weaves through the labyrinth of streets and alleys, unseen yet always watching. Tonight’s victory, hard-earned and fought with fear, weighs heavy on his shoulders. The shouts and hollers of the people echo in his ears, a song of gratitude and fear, a testament to the duality of his existence.
 
Some cheer for him, their voices raw with relief and hope renewed. Others wail in fright, their cries a reminder of the darkness that continues to grow unchallenged. The noises overlapping until the cheers have to fight against the wails to even be heard, like the stars fighting against the darkest nights to be seen. However, the night turns victorious as he finally returns to his home, a forgotten corner of the city where forgotten souls find solace in the shadows. Where everyone is searching for their own answers to their own questions. Some questions overlap but often people find different answers because they look in different places.
 
Inside his sanctuary, the vigilante loses his mask, revealing a face weathered by hardship and marked by his many years lived. His hands, once steady and sure, now tremble with the weight of countless battles fought in the name of justice. A flickering street lamp casts eerie shadows across the walls, dancing like ghosts of his past.
 
He makes himself some warm tea, the herbal liquid a cure to his curious mind. Each sip is a reminder of the cost this cruel world took from him. The lost friendships and all of the innocent people that get sacrificed so others don’t have to see the true answers of the world. He knows that while the night may bring shadows and uncertainty, it also offers a chance for redemption, a chance to rewrite the narrative of his life, one question at a time.
 
And so, as the city awakens to the promise of a new day, the Vigilante stands in defeat because there is no visual change. He may be the silent guardian changing one life at a time, but still all of his questions remain unanswered. In the heart of darkness, where the bright flashing lights continue to dwindle, he remains hopeful, a testament to the power of the human spirit in the face of the unknown.
 
Questions everlasting, but answers never arriving, the vigilante's story is a statement to the power beheld in the strength of personal pursuance even though the answers are ever changing.

Danielle Paddock

** 

Infinite Universe
 
While the world below us grows,
the sky seems to never change its form.
 
It follows us day by day,
stretching to all corners of the globe.
 
We question God, wondering why it’s made such a mysterious entity,
though we are left with more questions than answers.
 
The only thing we can do is to look in admiration,
hoping to find a solution that fills us with amazement.
 
The more we view this large secret,
it makes us wonder why we are here to view it.
 
With such a finite amount of time in the world,
why are we here to discover the infinite universe?
 
Joanna Dong
 
**
 
Peaceful Curiosity
 
The eyes first notice the man in the center, gazing into the stars.
Look closer and notice his eyes, full of wonder and amazement.
Surrounded by obstacles in the way of the truth.
He’s peacefully curious.
 
A large target below his hand brightens his future and explains his past (off-center).
The hand is wide like an eagle's wings soaring through the night.
Taken back, but open to suggestions.
Curiosity peacefully overcomes him.
 
Hair like a clown on the sides and flat on top.
Ready to speak, unprepared for the answers.
Frightened, but safely listening.
Peaceful curiosity takes over him.
 
Denise Gehring
 
**
 
Star Gazers Revelation
 
In the still, night sky under the dancing stars.
There Copernicus was, captured in his thoughts.
As he stared into silent moving abyss.
The darkness called to him to discover the truth.
 
“Could it really be?” he thinks to himself as he finishes his equations.
“Could the Earth not be the center of all?
Questioning the status quo makes him yearn for more knowledge,
knowledge of the truth.
 
The cosmos opened wide, revealing its patterns.
Its size daunting, yet its beauty unmatched.
Copernicus then has a significant revelation.
The Earth is apart of a perfectly balanced system.
Not the center of it.
 
With this discovery,
His mind took its place among the stars.
Copernicus, the dreamer, who dared to dream,
Revealed the truth of the solar system
In all is perfect glory.
 
Brady Landis
 
**
 
Immortal Answers 
 
In the Artist’s brush, the Astronomer stands,
Amidst the scrolls of his celestial plans,
A man made of stars and theories bold,
In contemplation, his mind starts to unfold.
 
In twilight’s hue, where shadows stir,
He gazes up to where his thoughts ascend,
To the realm where planets lie a mystery,
In orbits traced by laws unknown.
 
Upon his furrowed brow
The secrets of the heavens lie,
Conversations with God commence,
In whispers of cosmic fate.
 
Eyes alight with starlit fire,
He seeks his heart's desire,
To unearth secrets found, 
And chart the cosmos, free from chain.
 
Astronomer, in your dream,
You challenge Earth’s importance,
And in your mind’s celestial flight,
You paint the universe in light.
 
Astronomer, philosopher, in one,
Your quest for answers have just begun,
In art, your spirit lives on,
Where science and faith come intertwined.
 
From halls to realms afar,
You grasp the heavens through the distant stars,
In each stroke of the Artists hand,
A monument to what has been found. 
 
Standing so immortal, 
Where time and space forever hold,
The vision of a seeker true,
Whose conversations with God are made anew.
 
Lara Manter
 
**
 
The Florist of the Stars
 
In a chamber filled with starry dreams,
Copernicus stands, caught between heaven and earth,
Eyes lifted to the celestial garden,
Fingers tracing constellations like petals in the night.
 
Beneath the sky of his contemplation,
A world of charts and maps unfurled,
He deciphers the cosmic blossom,
Where planets unfold their secrets to minds alike.
 
Ink stains his hands like the shadows of night,
Tracing the orbits that shine like rays,
A small flower blooming in quiet defiance,
The sun, a golden sunflower at the universe’s heart.
 
Books and scrolls, companions to his quest,
Litter the desk like scattered petals,
Each one a step closer to the divine conversation,
Each one is a bridge between mortal thought and eternal truth.
 
The candle flickers, a lonely daisy,
Casting long shadows that intertwine with the light,
His mind, a garden of questions and revelations,
Unraveling the mysteries of the cosmic bouquet.
 
In the solitude of his search, he finds God,
Not in the silence of prayer, but in the language of the stars,
A dialogue etched in the fabric of the universe,
Where every moment, every orbit, blooms infinitely.
 
And in this quiet room, with its humble scholar,
The heavens unfold, revealing their sacred lotus,
A testament to the man who dared to cultivate
The celestial garden of a spinning universe.
 
Danielle Paddock