Magnetar, Magnetar
The one they call the ‘Zombie’ star

Born, out of stellar explosion
Or where neutron stars merge, engage.
Almost fantastical notion
That could tear atoms in its rage.

A terror of radiation.
Less than one second’s duration

Bursts forth greater energy than
One hundred thousand years of sun.
This pulse’s fractional timespan,
Over, just as soon as begun.

One can scarcely believe
How the great cosmos may achieve

Such unlikely physical feats.
This strange star, whose wonders astound
From the vantage of earthly streets.
Yet there are so few to be found.

Not often Nature’s will.
Yes, rare, but in existence still

Among a hundred billion suns -
May number merely in their tens
Truly, the improbable ones
When they're viewed through the widest lens.

But in this space, so bleak
The Magnetar is not unique.

From galaxy to stellar storm;
Everything has its recurrence.
Nothing is of its own sole form
Not exclusive in occurrence.

Not alone. Not. Alone.
Of this, the Magnetar has shown.

So, to Life, the civilised kind
And our search for its example -
Beyond Earth, how much might we find?
In truth, well it may be ample.

Life’s solitary vale
Viewed upon universal scale

May abound in great multitude
Amid countless galaxies, where
Sentiences find their aptitude.
Emerging from the darkness there.

It is a wondrous thought
For all things have their kindred sort

Where forces and fields conspire
In the untold heavens afar
To be forged from Creation’s fire
And here, we thrive, oh Magnetar!


by Sam Bartle 
(© Copyright  Sam Bartle 2025)