the gods need not take our sight …

we scale ourselves …

moving from low to high,
we see our path as true,
that we are in the right,
forever left nearby,
as if they’re out of view,
the shadows of the night

whether heaven or haven
will ever erase our blight,
our myths impel us even
further on a cosmic flight

like Sisyphus for his wrongs,
while the summit’s view rivets,
we cannot stay at such height,
it’s not where our soul belongs,
just for brief tourist visits
the peak of eternal light

Copyright © 2025 John P. Healy

Author’s notes

.1. Re “we scale ourselves ,” the word scale has multiple senses, some of which are:

• Scale as in “climb” (or ascend or evolve) ourselves, as in “ascending lord of neoteny.”
• Scale as in “weigh” (or measure) ourselves in some moral framework, or as worthy of salvation.
• Scale as in growing (or expanding) in 10^n scope, as in expanding from tribe to village to … state (nation), planet, solar system … and beyond – both in our occupancy and vision.

.2. The title (“the gods need not take our sight“) questions some (personal) eschatological tropes. Whether some supernatural framework need hold sway over all moral purpose and devotion. A worldview in which the “gods” grab or compel our attention, thereby taking away our sight of things – turning a blind eye to all doubt & nuance. Reality hijacked by a black & white landscape.

And absorbed in a doctrine of heaven – as a place or existence bathed in light and crystalized delight (particularly for the chosen, elect, or worthy). Or absorbed in a utopian haven – as a place glowing with peace and abundance for all (maybe, eh). In either scenario, a fixed, final state or arrival or achievement (whether personal or collective).

.3. There’s a stair-step structure to the stanzas (particularly the first & third), with spaced rhyming lines. As if on a ladder or a set of stairs.

.4. I hope to build out this poem. For example, with a “litany” for mounting a temple’s stairs (as noted in the References). Or possibly a “homily” about entangled lighthouses & beacons as helping guide the way.

References & credits

.1. Recently, screenwriter Jeff Patton introduced me to the topic “peaks of eternal light.” An unpublished novel by a friend in his writer’s circle is titled “Peak of Eternal Light,” a story set on a near future moonbase.

.2. Website articles

• Science Direct > Space Policy > “The peaks of eternal light: A near-term property issue on the moon” in Volume 38, November 2016, Pages 30-38.

Peaks of eternal light

The “Peaks of Eternal Light” are highland regions near the lunar poles that receive sunlight virtually all of the time. I.e. they are (almost) never shadowed by other parts of the Moon. The existence of such peaks was first hypothesized by Beer and Mädler (1837, p.16). Over 40 years later [1879], the popular science writer, Camille Flammarion gave them their poetic name: “montagnes de l’éternelle lumière” (translated as “peaks of eternal light”). The small tilt of the Moon’s spin axis …

• Wiki > Peak of eternal light (PEL)

Detailed lunar topography collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) suggests that no points on the Moon receive perpetual light during both the winter and summer. However, there are points on crater rims which have very extended periods of sunlight.

This study [based on images from the Clementine lunar mission and data from the SELENE spaceprobe] found that two points only ~8 km from each other along a straight ridge extending from Shackleton Crater at the Lunar South Pole are illuminated a combined ~94% of a lunar year.

The data set from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows that some sites on the rim of Shackelton remain illuminated for 94% of a lunar year.

In culture

Moon Temple planned for a peak of eternal light on Shackleton crater’s rim to address future needs (such as spiritual accommodation) of people living on the Moon.

2017 — European Space Agency artist in residence Jorge Mañes Rubio created initial design.

2018 — corresponding artifacts were created by the ESA Advanced Concepts Team.

• ACE Humans on Instagram (Jorge Mañes Rubio)
Sep 20, 2020 — … of the Moon, with unique lighting conditions, featuring peaks of eternal light on its rim and perpetual darkness i…

[excerpt]
[In 2017] I decided to contact the European Space Agency ESA and convinced them to set up a position for me as an artist in residence at their Advanced Concepts Team. It was no surprise that I decided to focus on the Moon and the concept of the ‘Moon Village’ that was back then proposed by ESA’s Director-General. … the history of human exploration is a brutal one, synonymous with unfair distribution of power, aggressive colonization and exploitation of people, land and resources. … So I tried to imagine a future where none of these patterns is repeated and instead focused on how personal narratives and diverse ways of knowing could be projected on the Moon.

After a few months, I proposed to the European Space Agency the idea of building a temple on the Moon. A temple to promote a more sustainable, responsible, and spiritual approach to the future colonisation of the Moon. The Moon Temple stands on the rim of the Shackleton crater … featuring peaks of eternal light on its rim and perpetual darkness inside the crater. It’s truly an otherworldly place, a place where I imagine we’ll be able to feel something bigger than us, older than us.

• ESA > Moon Temple – Artist Jorge Mañes Rubio, part of ESA’s future-oriented Advanced Concepts Team (ACT), has designed a place of contemplation to serve a future lunar settlement (1-25-2017)

• designboom > “jorge mañes rubio envisions ‘the moon temple’ for future space civilizations” (1-10-2017) – see video visualization of temple

• Jatan’s Space > Poems: Space dreams

[excerpt]
We dream, we must

We dream, we must!
Or risk our species blown to dust

For a future that lies beyond the sky,
the time to act is nigh

An orchestrated descent on the Moon,
and an iterative rendezvous with an asteroid

Budge on with your dream,
and get past the crater’s rim

…

With your perseverance and might,
leap all the way to peaks of eternal light.

• Scientific American > Peaks of Eternal Light

Not far from home, on our own moon, a unique condition exists (below). Discovered in 1994 on Peary crater near the north pole, the so-called peaks of eternal light are the only known region in the solar system where the sun never sets. (Other such regions may exist on Mercury but have not been seen yet.) This unusual condition arises because the moon’s rotational axis is barely tilted relative to the plane of its and Earth’s orbit around the sun. Certain to become a tourist attraction, this site may one day also house the first moonbase. Temperatures in the area fluctuate comparatively little, perhaps by 20 degrees, making it an ideal place to settle. The possibility of water ice here is an added bonus.