Star Song by John Montague

Star Song

The stars still sing,
Even if, clamorous mortals,
We cannot hear them
Chorusing their silver music,
Their silent nocturnes.

A new astronomy is needed,
To marry the scientific
And the mystical, the
Musical and the magical,
The gleaming mythical.

As a child I lay,
Trying to hear them;
Like the astronomer princes
Of the Old World:
Keeping a vigil,
Awaiting a miracle.

John Montague is an Irish poet. He was born in New York and brought up in Tyrone. He was one of the best known Irish contemporary poets. He has published a number of volumes of poetry, two collections of short stories and two volumes of memoir. He is one of the best known Irish contemporary poets. In 1998 he became the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry. In 2010, he was honoured with Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur, France’s highest civil award.

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