Rosh ha’Shona 5771

[PrinceMyshkin]

Rosh ha'Shona 5772



The day was wandering.
The wind went around
and around. There was meaning in the air.
There is meaning in the air.

We search inside ourselves
for the multiverse that is supposedly
out there. There is so much sense
that it makes no sense at all.

I expect to go to bed tonight
ignorant
and to wake up tomorrow,
with the answer.


_________
With appreciation to Bar for straughtening me out on the calander

[Bar22do]

This poem expresses such an anxiety! Just don't expect the answer. It's all about questions, you know well.
One little remark, although it will be a disappointment: we have just entered 5772, you remained one year back!

There is so much sense
that it makes no sense at all.

is beautifully said.

Shana Tova, Prince.

[PoetTree]

I hope this new year is a good one for you, and that it is full of the answers you've been seeking.

[Delta40]

Always your poetry gives the reader cause for thought Prince. I love how you liken our search for meaning with the wind. very powerful.

[tailor STATELY]

Enjoyed.

Pleasant journey.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Haunted]

The last stanza is brilliant, but do hope it's not true and the answer is there when you wake up.

[Hawkman]

It's always nice to wake up to enlightenment :)

[firefangled]

Rosh ha'Shona 5772



The day was wandering.
The wind went around
and around. There was meaning in the air.
There is meaning in the air.

We search inside ourselves
for the multiverse that is supposedly
out there. There is so much sense
that it makes no sense at all.

I expect to go to bed
ignorant tonight, and to wake up
tomorrow, with the answer.


_________


I like the compact way this expresses mental and physical motion. S1 is saturated with rumination without ever saying so directly; you not only let the reader know N has been thinking about the paradox in the poem, but that he or she has been thinking about it for a long time. How you do that with repetition and metaphor is brilliant, I think.

S2, of course is the heart of the poem, the paradox of the physical and spiritual (personal) universes.

S3 implies to me that N, in the end, believes the answers come from within us, in a realm indigenous people often called the dream world, which was far more complex a place and reality than we attribute to dreams.

One of your best, Prince. Keep thinking.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Bar:
This poem expresses such an anxiety! Just don't expect the answer. It's all about questions, you know well.
You raise what I consider an interesting point: Do we really want an answer, or the freedom to continue asking questions? I’m reminded of this joke, more like a parable:

God: Thou shalt not boil the kid in the milk of its mother.
Moses: So what you’re telling me, Lord, is that I should keep meat and dairy separate?
God: I said “thou shalt not boil the kid in the milk of its mother.”
Moses: So, in other words, Lord, I should have separate dishes for dairy and for meat?
God: I said “thou shalt not boil the kid in the milk of its mother.”
Moses: So what you mean, Lord, is I should always wait two hours after eating meat before I have dairy?
God: Moses, do what you want!

PoetTree:
I hope this new year is a good one for you, and that it is full of the answers you've been seeking
and the same to you, dear friend.

Delta 40:
Always your poetry gives the reader cause for thought Prince. I love how you liken our search for meaning with the wind. very powerful
Many thanks to you, dear friend..

tailor STATELY:
Enjoyed.

Pleasant journey.

May yours be pleasant as well.

Haunted:
The last stanza is brilliant, but do hope it's not true and the answer is there when you wake up.

Waking up may have been all the answer I needed!
Hawkman:
It's always nice to wake up to enlightenment

Or, as I said above, simply to wake up, perhaps all the enlightenment we need!

firefangled:
I like the compact way this expresses mental and physical motion. S1 is saturated with rumination without ever saying so directly; you not only let the reader know N has been thinking about the paradox in the poem, but that he or she has been thinking about it for a long time. How you do that with repetition and metaphor is brilliant, I think.

S2, of course is the heart of the poem, the paradox of the physical and spiritual (personal) universes.

S3 implies to me that N, in the end, believes the answers come from within us, in a realm indigenous people often called the dream world, which was far more complex a place and reality than we attribute to dreams.

It’s an odd and gratifying experience when someone reads a better poem than one thought to have written! Thank you.

[symphony]

....But to wonder is so wonderful.
:)

And may you keep wondering and create wonderful poetry for the mind, Jer.

[blank|verse]

Thought-provoking as always, Prince, and I enjoyed the syntactical skill in the 'was / is meaning in the air' lines. It takes a brave poet to repeat the same line apart from one word, but it works very well. It's also quite a contemporary thing to do (alright, Auden was doing it a while ago, but it hasn't gone away) so despite being one of the older members of the forum, you're also one of the more cutting-edge.

I found the 'sense / no sense' sentence the weakest in the poem, veering a bit towards pop song lyrics, but the rest is ambivalently well expressed.

And I wonder if you could make more of the rhythm of the last stanza, placing greater emphasis on this 'ignorance / answer' dichotomy, something like:

I expect to go to bed tonight
ignorant,
and to wake up tomorrow
with the answer.
An enjoyable poem.

[PrinceMyshkin]

....But to wonder is so wonderful.
:)

And may you keep wondering and create wonderful poetry for the mind, Jer.

I will happily do that and would be just as happy to see some of your wonderful poetry here again.

[Buh4Bee]

Happy New Year! I enjoyed the conversation following your poem. I agree that to just get up in the morning is sometimes enough.

The poem has a nice flow. Enjoyed the line:
There is meaning in the air.

It is a wonderful spiritual experience to be able to saturate yourself in the meaning of a religious holiday and to able to attempt to draw some meaning about life from this day.