Anopheles during the second stage of metamorphosis

[qimissung]

an amorphous sea lung
changeling, the family loving but uncertain
eyes awash with pixie mischief,
with the others, Puck’s minion, believing in his vision,
a babe set under a leafless tree,
abandoned at the church’s’ door,
a moth on the heath,
a swallow flying low over the crimson sea,
la jeune fille qui trompe l’oeil,
a wild swan among the wild reeds

grey rain dimples the tarnished silver night
long white limbs dissolving,
the night’s eyes locked on those
delirious floating limbs
a hand, clutching with icy fingers, at the log
and the water a camera obscura;
listen to the lapping water whispering,
brushing a gentle finger against the question waiting there,
among the reeds,
god's answer floating to the surface

[MorpheusSandman]

This is such an enigmatic, abstract and difficult piece; I've read it 3 times and despite the fact that I still don't 'get' it I love the aesthetic. Every successive word is a kind of surreal surprise, but I certainly recognize an (intuitive?) intent. I love art (in any medium) that makes me work a bit, because it forces me to bring something to it and perhaps even learn something new... such as some words in French (I knew 'le jeunne fille qui' but not 'tromp l'oeil' which, btw, I think it's supposed to be 'trompe' if the translator's correct).

Nobody should be forced to explain their works, but here's a case where I would appreciate knowing a bit about the author's intent, even if you don't want to 'spell it out'.

[paperleaves]

When I read this, I feel like I am in all the places I've never dreamed of, all the crevasses untold, and all the stories left unwritten. It is so elegant and mysterious, I wish I was in your head so I could see what you see.

[~Sophia~]

A mid-summer nights dream? Simply wonderful qim!

[qimissung]

Thank You all very much. I will leave the intent to it's own devices, for the time being, Morpeus; I too, prefer art that brings me to the brink, then leaves me to find my way.

[Nick Capozzoli]

I presume from the title that you are writing about the Anopheles mosquito...but I can't make this out from what you say in the poem...

Anaopheles female mosquitoes lay eggs in water. These hatch into larvae that go through four molts (called instars), and become pupae (called "wrigglers") that emerge from their pupal cases (cacoons) as adult mosquitoes. With some effort I can see how your poem describes this life cycle, but it seems a bit obscure.:(

[~Sophia~]

Hmmm, Nick, I really didn't want to know all that. The poetic mystery is the "thing". Science is better left at the doorstep. Ignore the facts... adore the melody!

[MorpheusSandman]

Hmmm, I slightly disagree Sophia; interpretation and the communal effort involved in understanding and appreciating art is an invaluable tool to art and society as a whole. I love the aesthetic that the mystery of this kind of art evokes, but mystery is the greatest catalyst for knowledge. Probably the greatest metaphor I ever saw for this is in Kubrick's 2001: the sequence of apes and the monolith (representing the unknown) provoking the invention of the first tool, the bone, which match cuts to the orbiting nuclear platform, which swings out to space - Kubrick brilliantly goes from a mystery provoking invention, to the evolution of that invention, to the present mystery of space; essentially saying that the more our knowledge grows, the greater the mystery grows (just look at the current one in science of quantum physics). Great works of art tend to be like that too; the greater we understand them, the deeper and more fathomless they seem.

If knowing a single fact about a work ruins the work then it probably was never great in the first place. But, in my experience, great art is always enhanced by knowing more, because then the mystery just seems all the more majestic. I think that holds true here; even taking what Nick said it only puts some of the poem into a context, but the details are still completely mysterious if you really examine each word. Why the 'pixie mischief' and what does that have to do with 'Puck('s minions)'? 'Church door', 'moth', 'swallow', 'young lady with the deceiving eyes'? And just what is 'gods' answer' and why is it a plural possessive?

[~Sophia~]

If knowing a single fact about a work ruins the work then it probably was never great in the first place. But, in my experience, great art is always enhanced by knowing more, because then the mystery just seems all the more majestic. I think that holds true here; even taking what Nick said it only puts some of the poem into a context, but the details are still completely mysterious if you really examine each word. Why the 'pixie mischief' and what does that have to do with 'Puck('s minions)'? 'Church door', 'moth', 'swallow', 'young lady with the deceiving eyes'? And just what is 'gods' answer' and why is it a plural possessive?

Hi Morpheus... while I don't want to hi-jack this thread and so will only respond this one time, I am in agreement with the second half of your post but, I stress your words "knowing a single fact". For me in this case... Metamorphosis is the fact I want to work with. After that, if I'm interested enough, browsing, thinking, exploring is a bonus. My comment to Nick was trying to impart that the poem did not have to strictly follow the actual biology of the metamorphosis of the bug from beginning to end ... dry and intact. I read the work as allegorical and if it is vague, if it sparks my imagination - I'm hooked. To me, art is like the beginning stages of an unproven math theory or an undiscovered (as of yet) science... a question or an insight. I don't always want the equation handed to me on a platter. It's a matter of personal taste. For me, the beauty and intrigue lie in the unknown. I can't think of a single piece of art I thought inspired that answered every question for me.

[PrinceMyshkin]

This is such an enigmatic, abstract and difficult piece; I've read it 3 times and despite the fact that I still don't 'get' it I love the aesthetic. Every successive word is a kind of surreal surprise, but I certainly recognize an (intuitive?) intent. I love art (in any medium) that makes me work a bit, because it forces me to bring something to it and perhaps even learn something new... such as some words in French (I knew 'le jeunne fille qui' but not 'tromp l'oeil' which, btw, I think it's supposed to be 'trompe' if the translator's correct).

Nobody should be forced to explain their works, but here's a case where I would appreciate knowing a bit about the author's intent, even if you don't want to 'spell it out'.

This and your subsequent post re this poem are not merely highly articulate statements of your aesthetic; they are a virtual poem to your love affaire with art. You are the furthest extreme from the dispassionate consumer that I for one dread - the sort of person who in the midst of a busy day has some twenty minutes to review the whole of a new art exposition - but rather you're the romantic who spots a lovely, enigmatic figure in a dimly-lit cafe and falls in love not only with what you see but what you can infer. perhaps that's one way one could define poetry: the art of deep inference.

[Nick Capozzoli]

I forgot to mention that I did appreciate the language of the poem. I liked the way it "sounded." Unfortunately I know something about insect biology, (from my academic training) and I could not help reading the poem in that context. I presumed from the title that it had something to do with the life cycle of the mosquito. I can almost imagine what the poem has to say about that, but it remains obscure to me.:(

[AuntShecky]

A catalogue of many images of life at its youngest, with the idea that the mosquito, even the species whose adult bite can cause deadly disease, are valued. I do like the "Midsummer Night's Dream" allusion, especially with the occasional motif of fireflies oft mistaken for "fairies."
Well done.

[Virgil]

I must say I'm a little confused. Not sure what's occurring there at the end. I really like the sound and rhythm of the poem and the wonderful imagery, but I think I'm missing something at the end. Is it me? It's going over my head. LOL.


Edit: Now that I've read the other comments, I see I'm not alone. It is egnimatic. Well, let's say it's Puck's pixie dust. :D

[qimissung]

Several people have inquired about the meaning of the poem. I have to say at the outset that I am a a firm believer in the reader making the meaning. I did have an intent, a very specific one which I will discuss. But in the end, once something is "published" it is no longer mine, but yours to make of what you will, as it is with any gift given to you. So, as written to Morpheus, Virgil and Nick Cappozzoli:

The first stanza is describing a child, but not just any child, one who, shall we say, walks to the beat of a different drummer, and not in a good way. What each of the symbols in the first stanza, the changeling, the babe, the swallow, have in common is that they are different, outcast, alone. Why the moth, you ask? Remember the last lines of "Wuthering Heights, with the moths and harebells on the heath? There's a slight play on words there, as I certainly think of Heathcliffe when I think of the theme of this work.

And you may not agree, but the idea of the swallow flying across the vast sea, is to my mind, a very lonely image. Actually there's a Mexican folktale that I got the idea from. A swallow and another bird fell in love, but the swallow had to migrate across the sea. The other bird tried to go with it, but couldn't do it and had to turn back. The swallow never returned.

Let me also mention the swan. I wanted something that symbolized a creature that was extraordinarily self-contained. That self-containment signified, to me, someone with a fully-realized interior world. That inner world, a sanctum, if you will, is what enables them to survive the vast nothing without.

The second stanza has to do with being grown, and what can happen if that person fails still to make a human connection. What is going to happen, how unbearable their life? We see these people all around us in life and in literature; sometimes they die, literally or figuratively. And as we enter the scene, that is what is happening.

The mosquitoes? Well, in the second stage there is a resemblance to a figure in the water, trying to breathe. See here:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/mosquito/lifecycle.shtml

See the larva (the second stage of the life cycle)?

Hope is there, though, as always.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Several people have inquired about the meaning of the poem. I have to say at the outset that I am a a firm believer in the reader making the meaning. I did have an intent, a very specific one which I will discuss. But in the end, once something is "published" it is no longer mine, but yours to make of what you will, as it is with any gift given to you. So, as written to Morpheus, Virgil and Nick Cappozzoli:

The first stanza is describing a child, but not just any child, one who, shall we say, walks to the beat of a different drummer, and not in a good way. What each of the symbols in the first stanza, the changeling, the babe, the swallow, have in common is that they are different, outcast, alone. Why the moth, you ask? Remember the last lines of "Wuthering Heights, with the moths and harebells on the heath? There's a slight play on words there, as I certainly think of Heathcliffe when I think of the theme of this work.

And you may not agree, but the idea of the swallow flying across the vast sea, is to my mind, a very lonely image. Actually there's a Mexican folktale that I got the idea from. A swallow and another bird fell in love, but the swallow had to migrate across the sea. The other bird tried to go with it, but couldn't do it and had to turn back. The swallow never returned.

Let me also mention the swan. I wanted something that symbolized a creature that was extraordinarily self-contained. That self-containment signified, to me, someone with a fully-realized interior world. That inner world, a sanctum, if you will, is what enables them to survive the vast nothing without.

The second stanza has to do with being grown, and what can happen if that person fails still to make a human connection. What is going to happen, how unbearable their life? We see these people all around us in life and in literature; sometimes they die, literally or figuratively. And as we enter the scene, that is what is happening.

The mosquitoes? Well, in the second stage there is a resemblance to a figure in the water, trying to breathe. See here:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/mosquito/lifecycle.shtml

See the larva (the second stage of the life cycle)?

Hope is there, though, as always.

These are interesting and helpful to any of us who want a deeper understanding of the poem. Candidly I got none of this on my own, but I was more than satisfied by the majesty of the language, the conviction - which I shared - that the author was invested in every line, phrase or image.

Hopefully you are keeping a record of all your poems, towards the time when you might feel ready and/or bold enough to seek out an agent or submit these directly on your own to one or more publishers who publish poetry. Although I've done hardly any of that myself since the publication of my one book of poetry, I assume there are directories on-line of such agents and publishers. And the site http://allpoetry.com/ has some helpful tips.

[qimissung]

Thank you, Prince, as always. Your support is a sweet breeze holding this little balloon aloft and carrying it to places hitherto unknown. So often a phrase or an idea of yours has set me off in one direction or another. I have written some of my favorite poems because of you.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thank you, Prince, as always. Your support is a sweet breeze holding this little balloon aloft and carrying it to places hitherto unknown. So often a phrase or an idea of yours has set me off in one direction or another. I have written some of my favorite poems because of you.

It is a characteristic, I think, of some friendships and certainly of ours, that I get as much pleasure in expressing my appreciation of both your poetry and what I discern of your character, as you get in receiving it.

[firefangled]

Qimissung, this is definitely one of those the reader feels long before complete understanding comes. For me these are the best poems. As W.S. said, "The poem must resist the intelligence almost successfully."

I am and will be for some time enoying the mystery of this. And I will not read your explanation until I've had my fill. :)

[PrinceMyshkin]

Qimissung, this is definitely one of those the reader feels long before complete understanding comes. For me these are the best poems. As W.S. said, "The poem must resist the intelligence almost successfully."

I am and will be for some time enoying the mystery of this. And I will not read your explanation until I've had my fill. :)

Wonderful quotation, and the wonder of this poem and others like it is that there is so much to enjoy both before and after intelligence has done its parsing.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Qimissung, this is definitely one of those the reader feels long before complete understanding comes. For me these are the best poems. As W.S. said, "The poem must resist the intelligence almost successfully."

I am and will be for some time enoying the mystery of this. And I will not read your explanation until I've had my fill. :)

"W.S." I wondered, must refer to Shaespeare but it didn't have the sound of Elizabethan language nor the kind of pronouncing on poetry that the W.S. would have made. I should have realized who the other W.S. was who has overtaken Shakespeare in your pantheon!

[qimissung]

Thank you firefangled and Prince.That's how I feel about poetry, too. Thank you for resisting, and thank you for thinking.

[Nick Capozzoli]

"W.S." I wondered, must refer to Shaespeare but it didn't have the sound of Elizabethan language nor the kind of pronouncing on poetry that the W.S. would have made. I should have realized who the other W.S. was who has overtaken Shakespeare in your pantheon!


Sounds more like Wallace Stevens, the other W.S.;)