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In life's many circles
the calendars and seasons
ashes to ashes
cradle to cradle
(read: grave) the ends always meet
and it's plain to see every day
on every street
how the intolerant far right
meets the intolerant far left,
how being homeless
is not much different from having too many houses,
or the way information overload
generates ignorance -
from the centre
to the margins
the ratio never changes
so don't be fooled by bullseye
metaphors;
there are no extra points
for good aim.
I leave my place
head west
(or east take your pick)
and keep going
until I arrive at my starting point
the ocean is clouds is rain is ocean
is clouds is rain
in quieter moments
I sit with myself
to return to myself
by sending out a prayer
to someone else
and it goes: Lord,
please forgive me
for wasting time
the words
sink inward in depth
and outward in sound waves
like dropped stones
in a pond
or like an echo
between mountains
I can't hear
an undeniable part of me
refusing to accept
that it all makes
perfect sense.
4 comments:
It appears that you are back in Zen mode! How I envy you! You are catching me, as a reader, on a different wavelength (what is the opposite of Zen?). And although I am always, as you know, an admirer of your style and technique, my rebellious un-Zen self wants to ask: where exactly is the place where "the intolerant far right meets the intolerant far left"? does such a place really exist? and is "being homeless much different from having too many houses" uh, yes, I think it is! And if I go west instead of east it will definite make a difference, unless of course you don't have a specific destination in mind. It may even make a difference if you are just wanting to get back to your starting point! I know ... I may need to take a few deep breaths or meditate further on the meaning of pi ... or maybe I need a crack on the head from a Zen master! As a contrast to your vision of equanimity, I submit to you a recent poem entitled "News Feed" on the way I am seeing the world these days. I know you like to write poems about current events. I usually don't. But here you are ...
News Feed
The market’s down again today.
There is always a war they won’t let us forget,
The big one that everyone follows,
And the small ones that don’t get
Too much attention or play.
A new strain of virus to be
Careful of. The statistics are sobering, “There
Are Risks” experts say, and the causes
Are varied but the obits don’t lie
Someone, it seems, dies every day.
A political person that
Says the wrong thing or does the wrong thing or gets caught
Doing something they later regret,
It’s a commonplace. Scandals and
Gossip and pain come but don’t stay.
Earthquakes in countries through no fault
Of their own. And the weather seems to profoundly
Surprise us nearly every day.
And the specter of climate change,
Sadly, isn’t going away.
Labor disputes are only of
Import if somehow you’re personally involved.
You or your pocket book or your
Retirement plan. They’ll always be
Suffering. “I get it,” you say.
So check on the scores and finish
Your latte. Opportunity knocks, it’s a brand
New day! And skip past the headlines
And the other bad news, and on
To the wordle. It’s time to play.
Earthquakes in countries through no fault / Of their own,” now that made me laugh. But the rest of it was quite the downer, which I get means it worked, in a satirical sense. Definitely reminds me of my news feed, and a good part of the reason my perennial goal is trying to cut my screen time. These smart (read: manipulative) phones make of all of us voyeurs and peeping Toms. As for your response to my more zen poetic effort, yeah, I guess it’s a frame of mind sort of thing. If I have to explain where the intolerant far right meets the intolerant far left, and how homelessness is not much different then having too many houses, (ie. wealth is impoverishing) than it definitely missed the mark with you. That sort of surprises me since you are a Dylan aficionado, and wasn’t it he who wrote about a Napoleon in rags? Or maybe I never understood that image, which wouldn’t surprise me. As for moving past the tragic headlines and on to the Wordle, sadly you nailed me, and boy does it hurt.
Napoleon in rags, I think, is an image of someone who has fallen from an elevated status to a lower one, which is consonant with the rest of the song.
Glad you found the "fault" line funny (it was meant to be). The whole poem was meant to be humorous in a sardonic kind of way, particularly the ending.
Sorry we're not on the same Zen-wavelength. If you're there, don't let go! Don't listen to me! Indeed, I am doing my best to get (back) there myself! (Without drugs or alcohol!)
You are right that the insidious algorithms in our devices lure us in, and lure us away from the really important stuff in life. It could be the biggest challenge for our civilization.
I could be wrong but I somehow remember Dylan saying that Napolean in rags was a reference to the beatnik vagabond types he used to see in the streets that war old style military garb with epaulettes. But yeah it’s the idea of people of status losing it all, like he says in that verse, when you got nothing you got nothing to lose, meaning you’re actually rich (in freedom) because you have nothing to cage you in, like social norms and responsibilities. It’s the point where being impoverished (materially) meets being wealthy (spiritually.) A kind of circle.
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