Throw Your Rockets Far (grace, America, grace, God, Zen)

[Sunstone]

I shall not tell you Aaron at eight
Somewhere we walk in the yellow grass;
The sky huge, but our feet owning each step.
Somewhere we hear the shorebird’s cry
From a beach in Africa we never left.
Somewhere we are shaman, warrior, gatherer,
Women and men intimate with our past.

No, I shall not tell you Aaron at eight
What at eight you simply feel
On your lawn at dusk when you throw a bottle rocket
With a warrior’s grace -- and hard at the moon.

[michel]

Nice; a good poem. The trouble is that in these days of war and violence, it "Tolls the knell of parting day"

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by michel

Nice; a good poem. The trouble is that in these days of war and violence, it "Tolls the knell of parting day"

I've gotten that sense too when I've read the poem. It interests me that you've gotten the same thing from it, because I had thought it might just be me and the fact I live near Cheyenne Mountain, inside of which is the command center for America's nuclear arsenal.

On the other hand, I think the future is ambiguous in the poem. He could be throwing nuclear missiles, or moon rockets: either one. Destruction or Exploration. But which is it? I certainly don't know, but the more I read the poem, the more I think it could be either. Maybe even both.

I wish I knew the meaning of my own poems, Michel, but the poems don't come from my conscious mind.

Thank you for your comments! I think they're quite insightful.

[michel]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

I've gotten that sense too when I've read the poem. It interests me that you've gotten the same thing from it, because I had thought it might just be me and the fact I live near Cheyenne Mountain, inside of which is the command center for America's nuclear arsenal.

On the other hand, I think the future is ambiguous in the poem. He could be throwing nuclear missiles, or moon rockets: either one. Destruction or Exploration. But which is it? I certainly don't know, but the more I read the poem, the more I think it could be either. Maybe even both.

I wish I knew the meaning of my own poems, Michel, but the poems don't come from my conscious mind.

Thank you for your comments! I think they're quite insightful.

I didn't realise it was your own!

It is excellent; I agree with the ambiguous meaning. The way I read it, it might have been any of the cases you have just pointed out, but also could apply to stone age man chucking stones at his enemy. It's a great piece of work though; if it comes from your subconscious, the present situation as reguard guerilla warfare is obviously bothering you (which is perfectly natural).

The phrase you used amused me; because I often find that I have forgotten from where the idea came in a pieve of writing. But we are in good company:
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.or.../05/index.html

When he published Sordello (1840), almost everyone called it incomprehensible. Once, when readers asked him what a certain passage meant, Browning said, "When I wrote that, God and I knew what it meant, but now God alone knows."

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by michel

I didn't realise it was your own!

Unfortunately, every poem I've inflicted on the forum I have to take full responsibility for. There's no one else to blame but myself for my anti-social behavior in making kind readers suffer.

When I wrote that, God and I knew what it meant, but now God alone knows.

That is so true! Until I posted a dozen or so poems here within the last week, I hadn't read any of those poems for a couple of years. Reading them was much like reading someone else's work.

Do you write poetry, Michel?

[robtex]

I liked it too Phil. I like the personification in it and how you explained it in later posts. Phil If I might make a suggestion. I started posting my stuff on allpoetry.com I like that place and looked at a bunch of others which I talk about on my journal enteries alot last month. Maybe you could put your stuff on a place like that?

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by robtex

I liked it too Phil. I like the personification in it and how you explained it in later posts. Phil If I might make a suggestion. I started posting my stuff on allpoetry.com I like that place and looked at a bunch of others which I talk about on my journal enteries alot last month. Maybe you could put your stuff on a place like that?

Thank you for that suggestion! What do you like best about allpoetry.com? Would you recommend it?

I would be delighted if you would post some of your poetry here! What do you say?