Often in relationships we know certain facts but we don’t
“recognize” them as William Stafford suggests in his poem on community life. Stafford
compares a community to a circus that is trying to get to the park. The
elephants parade along holding each others tails. But one elephant wanders, the
others follow and the circus is in jeopardy of never arriving. The community is
lost.
The poet calls this “cruel, and maybe the root of all
cruelty, to know what occurs and not recognize the fact”. So what is cruel? Is it cruel that someone from the community
wanders off or is it that the others follow or is it that we know what occurs
but we do not recognize the fact? Maybe it is all cruel. A community has lost its way.
In relationships, to not recognize the fact might mean that
we know something is wrong but we simply do not know what to say or do. So, we
“let it go”. We almost pretend to not see it and we fool each other. I would
have to agree that there is something cruel going on here and yet, my guess is
that it happens quite often. .
What is the poet’s solution? Stop pretending and learn to
talk at a deeper level. As Stafford says we should
appeal to the deeper parts of each other. He asks us to, “Appeal to something shadowy, a remote important region in all who
talk”. He asks us to be clear with
one another, “The signals we give-yes or
no, or maybe- should be clear”, and he asks us to be awake. “For it
is important that awake people be awake”.
Finally, he asks us to keep the lines open with one another, “or a breaking line may discourage us back
to sleep”.
But it is far easier to pretend. It is far easier to “Not recognize the fact”.
When I see a big Rainbow trout lying deep among big boulders
and submerged logs I quickly know the challenging and difficult cast I will
have to make. I can pretend I don’t recognize the facts and carelessly cast and
make a mess of things, getting all tangled on rocks and logs and probably break
the line. Or, I can know the situation, recognize
the facts and act accordingly; artistically and tactfully. Eyes wide open.
Awake.
Alas, it is far easier to feign ignorance than to get at the root of an issue, have open and honest discourse, and/or confront a difficult problem. Humans (or is it Human Nature?) are often times more comfortable ignoring the uncomfortable interactions that often enshroud relationships.
ReplyDeleteBut to "let it go" is somewhat cowardly and only deepens the problem.
It takes courage and talent to "artistically and tactfully" acknowledge and act in these situations.
-L
My hope lies in my own desire to want to do things better, "to know and to recognize the facts", and to communicate in kindness and truth. However, quite frankly, I stink at it. I recognize the need for myself, and for others based on what I observe and know of others, to do this better, however, I mainly remain in the theoretical. Ok, some times perhaps I do it "right", perhaps even with some grace, but for the most part I am better at just writing about it (which is not much!).
ReplyDeleteOr, and, perhaps, I simply like poetry/prose that speaks powerfully to important life issues (in this case, communicating in the community). The poetry seems to get deeper and helps motivate me to respond at a deeper level (or at least, "almost" respond).
ReplyDeleteThe power of poetry is strong and compelling. Meyers speaks very highly of poets "This habit of 'seeing as' is deep in their DNA. Both [prophets and poets] see with the eyes of the heart, to save our souls from drying up...Without them [poets] the world becomes a benign parade of disconnected and meaningless objects and events that we process but do not reflect on."
ReplyDeleteYour use of poetry enriches your message and stirs the soul toward reflection.
-L
I like the phrase about "Seeing with the eyes of the heart to save our souls from drying up". I am forever hoping for more poetry and soul in society; in the work place, community, EVERYWHERE!
DeleteI often carry 3x5 cards with poetry written on it so I can read it while at traffic lights or on line in a store. It keeps my soul "alive".
An excellent idea -your 3x5 poetry cards. It shows your dedication to the art. It also is a way to stay grounded, or as you say "alive", in an otherwise hectic world. I can guess that Rilke and Stafford are among the verses...
ReplyDelete-L
Yes, The verses can be Rilke or Stafford. What ever is speaking to me. Sometimes scriptures from the Bible, Pablo Neruda, or Robert Frost and other poets. It just depends. But yes, "to be grounded" is another way of saying "staying alive". At our little church service tonight I shared again the challenge I often face of "finding life". I stated again how I do take very seriously the words of Jesus (as I have stated in some of my posts)when he said that "wide is the path that leads to destruction and narrow is the path that leads to life and few find it". Living life well and feeling truly alive seems to be a narrow path of sorts and is quite elusive.We had a good discussion. But back to the cards, as some people suggest, a scripture or poetry can be a symbol that serves to "transport" (so maybe it is the opposite of a "grounding"???) us to another realm. It takes us to another field where events other than the "here" take place; "Other worldly".
ReplyDeleteDo you have selected scriptures that you could recommend?
ReplyDeleteAlso, what Robert Frost poems do you like? I am not familiar with Pablo Neruda. Do you have some favorite works of his?
I can see how poetry and scripture would "transport" you and could be "other worldly". When I said "grounded", I meant in one sense "sane" and in another sense "maintaining perspective" since there is much out in the world to get down about.
On another note, did you attend last night's service?
-L
As far as scriptures go, I might suggest starting in the Gospels and read what Jesus said. I find that by going back to these words I sometimes hear them in a new way.
ReplyDeleteRobert Frost has a body of work. Of course "The Road Not taken" and "Stopping in the Woods on a Snowy evening" are beautiful. I have young kids memorize them. Pablo Neruda from Chile: There is a wonderful somewhat lesser known movie about him called "El Postino". In it Neruda mentors a young man on how to use poetry to court a woman. It is a touching story. As I have said before perhaps, do not expect something magical to happen when you read poetry or scriptures. You have to let it sit... meditate on it, (therefore the 3x5 cards).
Yes, we went to church. A lady named Darleen filled in for Dave. Some folks did not make it. We talked about nature and spirituality.