Reflecting on W. Blake's Clod and the Pebble poem as it relates to current events.
Strike that pebble
To the core
Mud up the dirt
Let it wash away
Which was better?
The clod or the pebble?
Was it better to stay rigid
Like the tree in the wind?
Or to bend like the reed?
So many analogies
So many viewpoints
But cannot we learn
From either, from both?
Can we stay true to our principles
While leaving our hearts open,
Flexible to experience
Flowing and stopping as necessary?
Aching in being severed
And streaming from murkiness to clarity
After the hurt is let go?
Is the tree bad for splitting in a torrent?
Might it be better than to concede one’s core truths?
There is a time for every action and reaction.
There is a season, as scriptures say.
Are we able to judge for ourselves?
Or do we follow leaders who make decisions for us?
Have our representatives’ polarization
Made us unable to compromise?
Will stubbornness replace malleability?
Will concessions steal our souls?
Only we can know
Only we can stabilize
Only we can reject
Only we can capsize
Our current dilemma over the direction of our country expressed so well. I haven't read Blake's original, so I don't know how much you drew from him. But I do know that these questions have come up often in our country's brief history. Hopefully, sanity will prevail.
PS. My poem this week has a very similar theme to it, except it's a little bit harsher. ;-)
"Only we" it all begins with us and our awareness, from their acts of heroism can spring forth from our souls no matter what the season. Your poetry enriches me dear poetess, it's always a pleasure to delve in it and try to understand it. Have a great evening, x
This is simply stunning! Poetry that tells a story, that teaches, and that inspires is a gift for the ages. You have done all three, and you have sealed my fate as your eternal friend.
Your last stanza sums it all up: capsize, indeed. You begin with a tree and reed compared. Then the question of principles and heart, "after the hurt is let go." Then the question of self-reliance is compared to others making decision for us, promoting the idea "will concessions steal our souls." Again, the last stanza pulls it together with the use of "only" at the head of each line. to know, to stabilize, to reject or to capsize. Loved the analogies. Well done.
Twenty-eight years ago, Stan Parker and Angela Carpenter broke off their engagement when each wanted to go their separate ways.
Stan became a sheriff’s deputy, married a dispatcher, and had a daughter. His wife died 7 years ago leaving him l
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PS. My poem this week has a very similar theme to it, except it's a little bit harsher. ;-)
Ron