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The lightest touch | Keith Gottschalk
3 days ago
We gather enormous quantities of information in the course of a lifetime. When we write poetry, however, we often fail to draw on this specialised information, limiting ourselves to the world of emotions and personal recollections.
Keith Gottschalk is a poet and retired academic with a boundless passion for astronomy. In the 1980s he published a book of mostly political poetry, Emergency Poems, often satirising the apartheid government to hilarious effect. On the strength of this work, he received the Order of Ikhamanga in 2022. Then, in 2023, he published Cosmonauts Do It in Heaven (Hands On Books), in which he turns his love of astronomy and physics into layered, learned but accessible poems in praise of the courage that makes space travel possible.
This month, he shared one of this collection’s beautiful, luminous poems with the AVBOB Poetry Project. Read the poem he shared and be inspired to share your own specialised knowledge with a wider audience.
The poem opens on a sombre note, with mourners leaving a graveside and resuming their lives. We do not know for whom they have been mourning, but their tired, hoarse voices testify to deep feeling.
In the second stanza, the closing of doors and the rolling down of burglar grilles remind us that night-time can be dangerous. Clearly, the people who own these shops or houses are hunkering down, concerned about the safety of their belongings.
The third stanza focuses on people returning home after a long, exhausting day’s work. We cannot be certain, but the minibus tells us that the poem is probably set in Southern Africa. The work of Gottschalk, a long-time lecturer in political science, has always been keenly aware of the difficulties Southern African citizens encounter on a daily basis.
Then, in the final stanza, the tone changes completely. The astronomers’ activity and excitement are immediately apparent. Of course, it makes sense that they should start working at this time of day: we know that they gather data by looking at the night sky. And if they work during the night, it is also not surprising that they should have breakfast when the sun is going down.
Though Gottschalk’s touch is very light here, there is clearly more at stake in this poem than meets the eye. By leaving us with an image of excited astronomers gazing at the stars after having evoked loss, fear and poverty, he reminds us that there is always cause for hope. Simply by looking up, we can enlarge our sense of the world around us. The image of the astronomers does not cancel out the mourners, commuters and other citizens in difficult circumstances, but it does remind us that fear and despair are never our only option. What is more, we have been drawn into a world of passion and discovery that may otherwise have remained inaccessible to us.
In the next few days, write a poem in which you draw on specialised knowledge you have gathered. Perhaps your specialised skill is to draw up learned, complicated documents. Or perhaps you have a rare skill, like an ability to tie complicated knots. Remember, the point is to have a light touch and make your poem fun and accessible.
The annual AVBOB Poetry Competition closed at 23:59 on 30 November 2025 and reopens in 2026. Visit www.avbobpoetry.co.za and register to enter.
Keith Gottschalk is a poet and retired academic with a boundless passion for astronomy. In the 1980s he published a book of mostly political poetry, Emergency Poems, often satirising the apartheid government to hilarious effect. On the strength of this work, he received the Order of Ikhamanga in 2022. Then, in 2023, he published Cosmonauts Do It in Heaven (Hands On Books), in which he turns his love of astronomy and physics into layered, learned but accessible poems in praise of the courage that makes space travel possible.
This month, he shared one of this collection’s beautiful, luminous poems with the AVBOB Poetry Project. Read the poem he shared and be inspired to share your own specialised knowledge with a wider audience.
AS THE SUN SETS
as the sun sets
the mourners, hoarse,
turn back from the grave.
as the sun sets
the doors close
burglar grilles are rolled down.
as the sun sets,
the commuters, weary,
squeeze out of the minibus.
as the sun sets
the mourners, hoarse,
turn back from the grave.
as the sun sets
the doors close
burglar grilles are rolled down.
as the sun sets,
the commuters, weary,
squeeze out of the minibus.
as the sun sets
the astronomers eat breakfast,
set off, start work.
the astronomers eat breakfast,
set off, start work.
The poem opens on a sombre note, with mourners leaving a graveside and resuming their lives. We do not know for whom they have been mourning, but their tired, hoarse voices testify to deep feeling.
In the second stanza, the closing of doors and the rolling down of burglar grilles remind us that night-time can be dangerous. Clearly, the people who own these shops or houses are hunkering down, concerned about the safety of their belongings.
The third stanza focuses on people returning home after a long, exhausting day’s work. We cannot be certain, but the minibus tells us that the poem is probably set in Southern Africa. The work of Gottschalk, a long-time lecturer in political science, has always been keenly aware of the difficulties Southern African citizens encounter on a daily basis.
Then, in the final stanza, the tone changes completely. The astronomers’ activity and excitement are immediately apparent. Of course, it makes sense that they should start working at this time of day: we know that they gather data by looking at the night sky. And if they work during the night, it is also not surprising that they should have breakfast when the sun is going down.
Though Gottschalk’s touch is very light here, there is clearly more at stake in this poem than meets the eye. By leaving us with an image of excited astronomers gazing at the stars after having evoked loss, fear and poverty, he reminds us that there is always cause for hope. Simply by looking up, we can enlarge our sense of the world around us. The image of the astronomers does not cancel out the mourners, commuters and other citizens in difficult circumstances, but it does remind us that fear and despair are never our only option. What is more, we have been drawn into a world of passion and discovery that may otherwise have remained inaccessible to us.
In the next few days, write a poem in which you draw on specialised knowledge you have gathered. Perhaps your specialised skill is to draw up learned, complicated documents. Or perhaps you have a rare skill, like an ability to tie complicated knots. Remember, the point is to have a light touch and make your poem fun and accessible.
The annual AVBOB Poetry Competition closed at 23:59 on 30 November 2025 and reopens in 2026. Visit www.avbobpoetry.co.za and register to enter.
