Boötes—New Interest

For several years now, off and on, I've been working on a book of family devotions based on sky lore and Biblical truth. I leave off for months at a time, then something perks my interest and I go back to it.

Now coming out of a dry time, I have J.R.R. Tolkein to thank. I've been reading his biography, and from it I learned about the Anglo-Saxon poetical form alliterative measure. Rather than rhymes and poetic feet, the music of each line depends on alliteration of three stressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable of a different sound.

The new book will contain artwork, astronomy facts, Biblical narratives, astronomy lore, and poetry. Today I wrote this description of Boötes in alliterative measure.

The ploughman prepares a plot to sow,
Smoothly strews the seed to grow
Waters and waits, watching his field
As his grain greens and gains in height.
Ranging rank and ragged are tares
Allowed to linger, later to burn.
Then scythe and sickle he sets to the task
And forth from the field he faithfully brings
The stalks to stack and store, then thresh.
Goodly grain he garners at last,
But chaff, cherished not, he chooses to burn:
Boötes the omen of oncoming harvest.

Scriptures: Matthew 3:12; Matthew 13:24-30