Poems about the James Webb Space Telescope

In Competition No. 3261, you were invited to submit a poem about the James Webb Space Telescope.

The first dazzling images captured by its infrared eyes were a welcome antidote to our terrestrial woes. They brought to mind the moment in the film Contact when Jodie Foster’s character comes face to face with a celestial object for the first time and says: ‘They should have sent a poet.’

So, it’s over to you. An honourable mention to Bruce Bennett; the winners below snaffle £25 each.

Much have I travelled in the realms of space Past supergiants and dying galaxies, With floating rubble tossed on cosmic seas A million miles from Earth’s familiar face. A watcher of the skies, I can record The birth of dust-enshrouded stars, long dead; Imploding voids on which black holes have fed Behind celestial borders, unexplored. Time-travelling, I shall complete my task, Revealing scenes beyond imagination To catch the first birth-pangs of our creation – A triumph for the team.