Thread: Answer

I wanted to see everything
I wanted to understand all
I wanted to be everywhere
So I built a cage
A large cage
A glass cage
And in the cage I sat
And as I sat I pondered
And the conclusion was this
If I am to see everything
I must be everywhere
So I built a nest
A large nest
A glass nest
And I slept within the nest
And as I slept I was devoured
Piece by piece
Fed into the mandibles of knowledge
And upon nine legs I walked
To roam and see with a million eyes
Viewing all in tiny parts
Which added together equalled one
And when my wanderings were done
I found I had the answer

(Not sure where this idea came from or even what it means! Ideas welcome)

This has the feel of a weird dream...It also reminds me of the book of Revelations in the Bible ...."upon nine legs I walked". Very mysterious..Peace...Jul

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on this piece Firemajic. Still has me stumped though.

I just came across your poem and I enjoyed it very much. Had you considered arranging the poem into triplets? Perhaps triplets might accentuate the natural cadence and rhythm your poem? Just a thought. Very good, indeed.

Hi mritt

No I hadn't thought of that but can see it would lend itself to triplets. I'll give that some serious thought.

Thanks
P.

My idea:
In our search for purpose, one often desires to understand why it is they have purpose- what it is and what it's for. It is common to be impatient when searching. This leads to the idea: if I see everything, and understand all, then it is possible to be everywhere. One way to achieve this is to isolate one's self from the chaos of personal, and exterior modern life, which allows one to tune-in, observe, relate, and ultimately possibly discovering purpose. But, in the attempt to find purpose through isolation, one has failed to observe outside the radius of which they can see- beyond human perception.

So, in order to see beyond the normal, one must be elevated as the lofty spiritual/supernatural. Within the territory of the unseen -observing that which is seen- one realizes their inferiority (devoured by knowledge) to the spiritual/supernatural as their desire for knowledge of purpose is satisfied. Once gaining the knowledge of spiritual/supernatural, one's perception of life is forever changed. The truth and knowledge of purpose is found- "the answer."

I believe this is accomplished through the idea of universal existence and purpose- we are all one (e.g. microcosm)- which is achieved through comprehension of something transcending and/or eternal that links human kind.

Just an idea...

Thanks for sharing this piece. It really forced me to dig into my slightly constipated mind- which I love to do but don't do enough.

It's perfectly okay to not understand your own work, it happens to me (and a lot of other artists) all the time. Sometimes i simply write down what come out of my head. The poem is fine, as is - so just enjoy the ride.

doghouse reilly

Thanks for your comments guys.

Must say they're all making me stretch the way I look at this peace.

Regards

P.

Hey, this is a really cool piece! Here is my take on it:

I see this as a metaphorical representation of man's quest for knowledge. We as individuals are constantly striving to discover the vastness of our unknown universe, but as we are but merely human, our best method is to try to 'capture' this knowledge within the feeble confines of a large (potentially universe-sized) man-made cage. The only conclusion arrived at through such a technique, though, is that this 'answer' to the question of reality really can only be acquired through non-human means: "I must be everywhere". But upon recognition of this failure, we do not concede, as we are inherently destined to strive for answers. Instead, we challenge what it means to be human: we attempt to nurture ourselves and transcend into a god-like state - a true mastery over the other natural elements of our universe, accomplished with advancement of science and technology. And in through this method, we can be "fed into the mandibles of knowledge" and achieve our transcendence, but in the acquisition of such a power to uncover knowledge, we get to our answer in no time at all, and so in the completion of our quest for understanding, we lose the very thrill inherent in understanding. That's just my 2 cents anyways. Let it be what you want it to be

Have you considered punctuation? I don't know how attached you are to that style, and I think it works very well in regulating the flow of ideas, but I think at some line breaks, some punctuation could emphasize the shift. Although it would really just do the same thing as mritt suggested with triplets, just maybe a different approach to it. Overall, though, this is stupendous. Thanks for the read!

Thanks for your comprehensive feed-back Pondering.

All I can say is wow! That sheds some new light on something that, at first, had me puzzled.

Regards

P.

It's so weird, and I don't get it much.

Which makes it awesome!

Well thank you Dramatism - I think! lol