The Invention of Us

[PrinceMyshkin]

In the long sweep of human history
we may never know who invented
the wheel, or fire,
or loneliness. Nor of the three,
which has had the greatest impact
on our lives.

Though none of us needs
to reinvent fire or the wheel,
we each invent loneliness
and proclaim it in our solitary rooms.

[dafydd manton]

That is so thought provoking, containing raw emotion that nearly all of us have felt, but so few can express. That is beautiful, Prince. Thanks so much for sharing it.

[hillwalker]

Thought-provoking - the closing line sums up what writing poetry is for many, re-inventing loneliness and putting a personal spin on coping with it.

[angliholic]

Short, philosophical, and thought-provoking again!

Prince, thy username has become a symbol of excellent poetry!

[Delta40]

so true. we kindle fire in our endeavour to reinvent the wheel so that loneliness might be gone

[Virgil]

Outstanding. One of your best Prince.

Edit: Just noticed the title. I'm not sure how that fits in. "Us" echoes with the "us" in the second stanza but seems to refer to two people rather than the generic we. Interesting. I like that too.

[Hawkman]

Redolent with reflective sadness, this one Prince. I'm sure it is true for many, if not all.

best, h

[blank|verse]

Thought-provoking as always, Prince, if perhaps straining at the boundaries of generalisation in its conclusion.

But the ambition and intelligence of your poems are always a joy to read.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Many, many thanks, Dafy, Hillwalker, Angliholic, Delta, Virgil, Hawkman and B|V.

[Jerrybaldy]

Thanks Prince.
A piece I did not need the dictionary for :)
Reminds, of how alone we all are and always will be, whether lonely or not.
cheers
Jerry (the other)

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thanks Prince.
A piece I did not need the dictionary for :)
Reminds, of how alone we all are and always will be, whether lonely or not.
cheers
Jerry (the other)

Many thanks, Jerry.

Although I wasn't thinking of the following when I wrote my poem, I remembered it afterwards: a great poem that I love very much





Danse Russe

If I when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
in silken mists
above shining trees,--
If I in my north room
dance naked, grotesquely
before my mirror
waving my shirt around my head
and singing softly to myself:
“I am lonely, lonely,
I was born to be lonely...”

Who shall say I am not
the happy genius of my household?


Wm Carlos Williams

[PrinceMyshkin]

Danse Russe

If I when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
in silken mists
above shining trees,--
If I in my north room
dance naked, grotesquely
before my mirror
waving my shirt around my head
and singing softly to myself:
“I am lonely, lonely,
I was born to be lonely...”

Who shall say I am not
the happy genius of my household?


Wm Carlos Williams



After I posted the above I got to thinking about a secondary way to read it. Always, before, I'd read it as the happy triumphant cry of ego over the bar of loneliness; but now I got to thinking if "Who shall say I am not" might not be a variant on the tree that falls in the forest when there is no one to hear it.

After all, Kathleen (presumably his wife) and the baby aren't there. Maybe he wouldn't dare to make that proclamation if they were; maybe he fears that either one of them, even the baby, might scoff at his naked egotism. And yet he knows or believes - as at moments we all do - that he is the happy genius of his household!

[lallison]

waxing phylisophical again, PM, I go for existentialism. Nice thoughts, and well intentioned.

[miyako73]

this is one of the best lines I have read on here.

"we each invent loneliness and proclaim it in our solitary rooms.

Nice one, Prince.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thanks Lallison & miyako:


this is one of the best lines I have read on here.

"we each invent loneliness and proclaim it in our solitary rooms.

Nice one, Prince.

That was a hard line to write, or to expose to public scrutiny, rather. I was nervous of my presumption in speaking for others. I remember reading with envy a quotation from a letter Chekhov wrote to a friend of his in which he expressed the wish to say to his fellow countrymen:


"You live badly, my friends. Isn't it shameful to live as badly as you do?"

Of course he did not actually say it to them, but I thought in this day and age, which of us would even dare to imagine saying anything like that to one's contemporaries?

[dafydd manton]

That "we each invent loneliness and proclaim it in our solitary rooms" has a haunting ring of truth. How many of us, no matter how happy we think we are, have not sat on our own, in our own quite mental cell, and felt the gut-wrenching pangs of loneliness. I think it is a fabulous line, one that I shall carry with me for a very long time. Inspired!

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thanks, dafy...

[Haunted]

I was going to say this is so thought provoking, then I saw practically everyone else is saying the same thing. This is such an ingenious way to illustrate the human condition. We can all relate to it. Thanks Prince.

[PrinceMyshkin]

I was going to say this is so thought provoking, then I saw practically everyone else is saying the same thing. This is such an ingenious way to illustrate the human condition. We can all relate to it. Thanks Prince.

Thanks, Haunted.