Life While You Wait by Wisława Szymborska
Love at First Sight by Wislawa Szymborska (1923 –2012)
Love After Love” by Derek Walcott
Prothalamion by Maxine Kumin**
Ode to the Automobile and Human Happiness by Alice Ostriker
announcements:
-- Drama with a Beat : https://wab.org/event/drama-with-a-beat-ages-8-11-2/
Marna mentioned this picture book which explores "where music comes from" Before Music : Annette Pimentel
https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/before-music_9781419745553/
-- Genesee Valley Calligraphy Guild: Artist reception
http://www.gvcalligraphy.org/Nutshell:
prelude
I started with this ASL poem which appeared yesterday on Poem a day. (the poem is on the extra link on the blog) you can enjoy watching it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LPheGnxJNo
I mentioned that John Clark, author of How to Communicate is the curator this month of the Poem-a-Day. (We discussed his poems and techniques in February of this year.)
Szymborska :
1) Life while you wait : Elaine R noted the repeat of title in the first line where "while-you-wait" turns into an adjective function to describe possibilities of how one might live life. Graeme and others concurred what a brilliant philosopher she is and so witty in her honesty about our human tendency to want to be in charge of "what happens". Case in point, Martin confessed he was not going to read, as he was not certain he could do a good job, but went ahead anyway, (with a positive result) encouraged by the spirit of the poem. He sums up, with this question, "how do we manage anything these days", with the example of navigating a car on the road. This prompted Judith to remind that humans are descended from fish, given the ability of how schools of fish, to avoid collision. She added the welcome wit of A.A. Milne from Now We are Six (do see Ernest Shepard's illustrations!) https://allpoetry.com/The-Knight-Whose-Armour-Didn%27t-Squeak
Back to the poem, indeed, Szymborska is narrator of a play... which encourage Susan to quote Shakespeare: "All the world's a stage... "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_world%27s_a_stage.
Discussion included comments about how cruel extenuating circumstances can be; delight in the images such as "your character like a raincoat you button on the run", the contrast between machine model and us (humans) without a script, the liberating effect of the playful mockery, and the versatility, as depending on your tone, you can match your personal life view.
2) Love at First Sight : a similar mix of brilliant wit and wise observation about falling in love, with novel angles of how it might happen (on par with life's haphazard distribution of scripts and roles).
Kathy picked up on the character "Chance" (toying with lovers) and the multiple directions its personality and role could take: Does it stiffle a laugh, of its own, or of the lovers? And what kind of leap as it springs out of the way? The fact that there are no answers and possibilities multiply increases the humor.
This comforted Richard who looking at the ending, thinking his statement "Every moment is a premiere" contradicted. We discussed the benefit of "both... and" -- perhaps indeed " Every beginning
is only a sequel, after all,/and the book of events is always open halfway through.-- but this doesn't mean a splash of an entrance is not possible!
Graeme shared the anecdote of the unlikely possibility of his daughter, moving into a dorm at college,
seeing a friendly young man, and knowing "that's the one". Indeed, he did wind up as her husband!
**
Everything, everywhere all at once + Movie
Susan recommended this movie (playing at the Little until 7/27) : Past Lives (at the Little) https://thelittle.org/past-lives/ explaining the amusing homonym she heard in "past" as "passed".
Elaine O recommended this book: Kate Atkinson: Life after Life.https://www.amazon.com/Life-After-Novel-Kate-Atkinson/dp/0316176494
Love After Love” by Derek Walcott
Although I'm sure we've discussed this wonderful poem before, like any poem worth its salt, a timeless and welcome addition with its flavor of Rumi, or as Claudia put it, the perfect antidote to someone who feels depressed.
Again, this difficulty we have of accepting ourselves... but here, not presented in a wry fashion, but with such a "loving rhythm", as if breathing in the meditation. We spoke of the power of the word "feast", which is in every language, not just as "eating" but celebratory act, a festive ritual. Bernie noted the one-word acts that require us to stop: eat. sit. give wine. give bread. The simple acts given space, time.
Elaine R called on the versatility of the title that can be read (hence understood) in multiple ways.
Judith was reminded of this fabulous George Herbert poem: ( and I did sit and eat...)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44367/love-iii. Elaine O was reminded of Michael Pollan: "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants."Kumin: she provides a perfect sonnet using a tennis as the preparatory game for the story of a marriage. The scoring "love", I have heard comes from Brits hearing French play and call zero "l'oeuf" (an egg). Just the game itself comes from Tenez -- here... be ready, I'm sending you the ball. Paul was delighted to be reminded of Spenser (and beloved 17th century British poets) and his long wedding poem, Epithalamion.
Ostriker: This poem triggered "fleets" of car memories and associations as well as thoughts about why and how happiness and cars go so well together, and the guilt we have now about using cars.
Paul mentioned how it might not be an "important" poem-- but on the other hand, the memories it elicits are very much loaded with important meanings! Rendez-vous, kisses, winding roads, the Hutch and expectations became realities; Kathy's real forest green Chevrolet, (and see the USA with Chevrolet!) Marna's VW she called Maud that she could fix herself... the memory of endless night excursions with friends...
As for "freedom" the poem does not say it is a guarantee... only a promise... like the promise of happiness.
We went full circle back to the first poem, and our expectations of life and how we love to believe they can be. No car or life can do it.. but we love to think it does...
For Once, Then, Something by Frost was the last poem only because Ostriker had mentioned it in her note about a little distillation of joy... for once... something.
We picked up on the criticism inherent in the opening line -- here is someone taunted by others... and later, even nature rebukes. The weaving of the title, the repetition of picture... the clever management of precise imagery, not to mention the sound of sense is all admirable. You think you've got it? As one person remarked, it's not truth that is lost, it's the person in the poem feeling lost. The pebble is more than a pebble and we're off... thinking about what makes something something, the unspoken "once it was" that morphs on the hinge of time as then goes from past to what happens next as a consequence.
I brought up the crazy art experiment of a man taking a picture of himself punching a time clock, 24 hours a day for a year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=tvebnkjwTeU
What changes? I liked this commentary in the chat.“We originate from dark abyss. Our finish is in dark abyss. Ths time in between we call life”.
CertainlyTehching Hsieh’s “Time Clock piece” helps us to think about how we “pass time”. Whether taking a photograph of yourself “punching in” every hour for a year, or observing habits some might call “hard-working” or attitudes some might determine as leading to “lazy”, this certainly triggers a meditation on time, how we deal with it.
Likewise, this idea of defining “same”, or “equal” which is different from “similar” or “parallel” … or..or..or… and… and… and…
As ever a rousing discussion and magnificent session! Thank you all
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