The Lorelei Signal
If Your Soul had a Singing Voice
Written by James Machell / Artwork by Lee Ann Barlow
If your soul had a singing voice,
it would sound like planets turning,
like nebulae spreading out,
like the passion of hypergiants burning.
Its bells would be the stars exploding,
and cellos, yellow dwarfs imploding;
the drums, two black holes meeting,
and violins, the galaxies retreating
for only those who know the Universe well
can hear its heart beating,
and only those who know you well,
can hear when your soul is singing.
James Machell is a British science fiction writer and poet. Some of his interviews have been with Ken Liu, Samuel R. Delany, and P. Djèlí Clark. He is also the contest chair for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, outreach manager for Utopia Science Fiction Magazine, and a contributor to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.