For the Day 678 entry on Blake Hall's The 800 DAYS blog, we are treated to some poetry. As always, the content contains items that will make you think, "Hmm." The title of this piece, "In This Spiritual Conspiracy."
Although in a number of places, the text appears to argue upon itself, don't let the messages stand as such - but instead, take time to consider opposites. What struck me most is how opposites in this piece exist as they are. A bit of a new concept outside of our Western either-or mentality... things existing as opposites without being detrimental to each other...
ie: "I have no words: I make silence out of silence" and "I have no words: I make silence out of words" opposites words (sound) and silence exist here without detrimental opposition... they just ARE - but also, the narrator has transformed sound to make it silence...where silence was in the first place (I have no words/sound?).
I like the concept that "Love is the religion we come to share." Repetition of this line is like a reminder that we "come to this," are required to provide action toward this. It's more like a reminder than a statement of "what is." I also like the call to action line late in the piece, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
"Be the change you want to see in the world" will be my mantra for a little while and this is one of the lines that sticks with me most potently of all the text in this piece...
What thoughts do you have about this Spiritual Conspiracy?
The Day 678 post on The 800 Days blog is thought provoking art, associated with Friday February 11 2011
Showing posts with label blake halls poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blake halls poetry. Show all posts
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Day 713 (Tidbits)
More of Blake's poetry is featured in the Day 713 entry over on THE 800 DAYS BLOG.
The first two lines of the poem set the mood and state unquestionable truths to hold in the mind while navigating through the rest of the poem:
In my interpretation, these lines state the obvious, present state of things. In the temporal world of the poem, readers are quickly plunged from a present-day statement and into the truths of the past, the first 12 lines dedicated to addressing our current state of being and our world right now - and after line twelve - the words seem designed to take us straight to the ancient Elders and deities...
The words directly relate to ancients at the same time as to these these blogs, the 800 DAYS (Countdown) Project, as well as honouring what is known about the ancients, the Mayan Calendar, Mayan culture, past and present bloody and spiritual sacrifices that have been and are inherent in our world... A nice fusing of past and present.
The poem is artistic - but is also so much more. A condensed history of the past is contained in the words.
Here's a warning for you all...
The poetry is beautiful, attractive - so look past the beauty and into the messages here - THINK! Think hard - look for the metaphors, stop at the ends of lines to pause and THINK about what is unfolding line by line...
...the events Blake voices so wonderfully in his poetic words - are about ancient events - murder, treachery, transgressions against humankind's spiritual considerations - by other human groups - all of this runs so very deep in the history of the existence of people...
Perhaps using poetry to tell truths such as the ones here is the only way to make our historical wrongs against humanity available to a wide-spread audience. We're conditioned to like pretty things, right?
Kudos to Blake for inserting reality, past, present and truths into his works and not giving us cute-sie bubblegum eye candy passages in his poems.
In my opinion, the most powerful lines of the poem:
Perhaps if we keep reading, keep thinking, keep searching and pay attention to how to use our whole mind in the next seven hundred odd days, we will be able to understand what the end of the Mayan Calendar means but moreso - simply how to be human and humane to each other within this time. If a more sizeable "end" is coming, aside from a piece of ancient technology stopping functionality on December 21 2012, I'm sure that what is going to happen next is going to require that humankind be wiser and more benevolent than right now...
A strange quirk of the human mind is that - when confronted with horrors, it copes sometimes - in ways which makes us worse human beings. ie: we see war, murder and death, then our mind copes in a strange way by dissociating - which makes us capable of witnessing and performing greater acts of horror...
The way out of this tendency is AWARENESS and HUMANE-NESS and if poetry doesn't bring you to awareness and if Blake's particular brand of poetry doesn't bring you to humane-ness, many of us are going to remain truly as lost and in as much chaos as Blake asserts in the beginning lines of this particular poem...
Again, the lines are:
If we can overcome our dissociations, people can't rule us in markedly detrimental ways. We'll either dissociate and fall down in our inability to confront horror (this will stop us from acting in any way that is detrimental to another human or living species - nobody can die or be harmed by our hand this way) or our minds and bodies may find a better way to cope and stand aware against detriment to our human species.
We can start preparing our minds for mindfulness and benevolence - by learning...
Go read the poem and start navigating through the concept of understanding!
The Day 713 post is associated with Friday January 7 2011.
The first two lines of the poem set the mood and state unquestionable truths to hold in the mind while navigating through the rest of the poem:
"Everything lives in motion
Everyone is lost in chaos"
In my interpretation, these lines state the obvious, present state of things. In the temporal world of the poem, readers are quickly plunged from a present-day statement and into the truths of the past, the first 12 lines dedicated to addressing our current state of being and our world right now - and after line twelve - the words seem designed to take us straight to the ancient Elders and deities...
"As...
The temples of the Elders hold the magic
The sun god he predicts the final days [...]"
The words directly relate to ancients at the same time as to these these blogs, the 800 DAYS (Countdown) Project, as well as honouring what is known about the ancients, the Mayan Calendar, Mayan culture, past and present bloody and spiritual sacrifices that have been and are inherent in our world... A nice fusing of past and present.
The poem is artistic - but is also so much more. A condensed history of the past is contained in the words.
Here's a warning for you all...
The poetry is beautiful, attractive - so look past the beauty and into the messages here - THINK! Think hard - look for the metaphors, stop at the ends of lines to pause and THINK about what is unfolding line by line...
...the events Blake voices so wonderfully in his poetic words - are about ancient events - murder, treachery, transgressions against humankind's spiritual considerations - by other human groups - all of this runs so very deep in the history of the existence of people...
Perhaps using poetry to tell truths such as the ones here is the only way to make our historical wrongs against humanity available to a wide-spread audience. We're conditioned to like pretty things, right?
Kudos to Blake for inserting reality, past, present and truths into his works and not giving us cute-sie bubblegum eye candy passages in his poems.
In my opinion, the most powerful lines of the poem:
"But by the hands of a man
We followed the ancient rituals
But had forgotten the ancient pride
We surrendered to the legions our cities of gold
And we left our cities of stone, and our temples in the sky"
Perhaps if we keep reading, keep thinking, keep searching and pay attention to how to use our whole mind in the next seven hundred odd days, we will be able to understand what the end of the Mayan Calendar means but moreso - simply how to be human and humane to each other within this time. If a more sizeable "end" is coming, aside from a piece of ancient technology stopping functionality on December 21 2012, I'm sure that what is going to happen next is going to require that humankind be wiser and more benevolent than right now...
A strange quirk of the human mind is that - when confronted with horrors, it copes sometimes - in ways which makes us worse human beings. ie: we see war, murder and death, then our mind copes in a strange way by dissociating - which makes us capable of witnessing and performing greater acts of horror...
The way out of this tendency is AWARENESS and HUMANE-NESS and if poetry doesn't bring you to awareness and if Blake's particular brand of poetry doesn't bring you to humane-ness, many of us are going to remain truly as lost and in as much chaos as Blake asserts in the beginning lines of this particular poem...
Again, the lines are:
"Everything lives in motion
Everyone is lost in chaos"
If we can overcome our dissociations, people can't rule us in markedly detrimental ways. We'll either dissociate and fall down in our inability to confront horror (this will stop us from acting in any way that is detrimental to another human or living species - nobody can die or be harmed by our hand this way) or our minds and bodies may find a better way to cope and stand aware against detriment to our human species.
We can start preparing our minds for mindfulness and benevolence - by learning...
Go read the poem and start navigating through the concept of understanding!
The Day 713 post is associated with Friday January 7 2011.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Day 723 (Tidbits)
Okay, so now there could be problems...
After reading the Day 723 content over on THE 800 DAYS BLOG, I find I actually disagree with the words... what's worse is, I haven't much of a leg to stand on because I'm arguing with poetry lol.
Damn, why does Blake have to write so much darned poetry all the time?
(I'll get back to this later - soon)
I do not, however, disagree with two versions (2 vids, different versions of the same tune) of Stairway To Heaven presented on the entry! WAAAAY COOL - the 2nd offering is with "Gregorian" vocalists! Nice.
Okay back to the disagreement stuff. Warning: I won't "win" this argument, it's not possible.
1. Poetry (according to mythbuster and not less than a few hundred THOUSAND others who study poetry) expression is more powerful and lasting than my argument can be, partly because it is a form for expression and, well, things must be expressed freely in order to facilitate commucation, messages, understanding and SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS... the poet, of course, begins the interaction and, as such, has the most rights in a disagreement. Besides after both the poet and dissenter are gone, the poetry still stands 'cos it was sent out into the world.
My interpretation (the reader) and reaction to the words/mood is always in relation to the first standing words... Poetry and words of the poet have the right to exist more than I have the ability to solidly disagree with the words.
Added point: the only right and priviledge that I have that the poet may NOT take away from me is - my interpretation of the work. The poet loses the right to be perfectly understood as soon as he/she issues the words, in any form (Michel Foucault's theories on poetry/language and social interactions, which I adhere to). A poet may only say what he/she intended but must not interfere with how another mind interprets... Fortunately for Blake, unfortunately for me, the poem says what it says.
Still, there is always truth in poetry...which trumps my reaction to it AND my opinion of it will always be a side-effect of the poetry while the poetry is what it is...
I've been asked a question for the past 5 years and received the same accompanying comments along with the question: Why don't you write more poetry? Your prose is often poetic, so why not just write poetry?
Answer: (short) cos' I'm a control freak lol !!!
Long answer - I want my words interpreted how I mean them and, although I love poetry, study it, use it, I am intimidated by both the power of it and the fact that once I issue it forth, it is not mine anymore. With this in mind, I'll have to say that Blake is braver and more open than I, I suppose... I am, however, still learning to interact with poetry in a more open way... I believe that once I gain clarity in my writings and am satisfied with this aspect in writing, I will feel more comfortable writing poetry and not feel I have to have so much control).
Now where was I?
Ohyeah - the exact issue of disagreement
2. What the words say to me:
"to never apologize for the burning of books." This hits a raw nerve with me as I am a collector of words (narrative, urban legends, witnessing/accounts of abuse and distress (as a mentor), Native story circles, etc) and I am part Native (Cree). Words are sacred to me (as they are, too - obviously - with Blake). The nerve part is probably that I am part Cree and understand a great deal about entire cultural references - including words - that have been obliterated, unrecoverable - from Cree culture and other Natives.
I'm probably having a hissy fit over just that one line - in fact it is just that one line that I abhor!
PROOF of the power of poetry.
I just wanted to stop and make the hissy fit as an explanation of the power of poetry because I feel that poetry is so often misunderstood as an art, as a vehicle for important statements, as a political vehicle for expression of ideas and emotions, and more. Poetry is so much more powerful and sacred than the average person knows or learns...in fact, "The Arts" are often (ie: book burning) attacked due to peoples' fear of their power.
I'm done my hissy fit and almost done my rant and will now jump over that one line that stirred so much (dare I say) aggression, discomfort and disagreement for me.
The poem, Burning Books , link supplied so you can have a look.
I do understand that the narrator of Blake's poem - whether that is intended to be Blake himself or the anonymous, unknown voice of the poem's speaker - is providing a possible viewpoint that says something like, "you likely couldn't read all those books that were burned, anyway" and "many were filled with lies, anyway" and those are also true statements...
However, in my experience, the act of burning books is a violation against humanity - not just the group/author of the books whose books are burned. It eliminates a fundamental human process - that of the experience of critical thinking and decision-making about what is or is not truth. The violation is an opportunity violently stolen away from every generation, past, present and future...with no opportunity of negotiation on this act. A book burned eliminates the past, robs the present generation of a truth or non-truth which must be sorted through, and obviously robs the future generations of the truth and non-truth, as well.
Strangely enough, this post has been a little exercise in working through the emotions that poetry stirs up and I find that writing it all out has provided a release for the original disagreement/anger-reaction I first had many moments ago...
I knew this would be an exercise as I began reviewing the Day 723 post - and whether this looks strange to most or not, I hope this writing shows the power of poetry. In the end, right about now... by having addressed the issue I had with the content (even just one line) this process has had a cathartic effect on me (Aristotle said this catharsis brought about via the arts is of tantamount importance to human beings, relationships, community, etc) and I am accepting of even the problematic line as I near the close of this post.
Originally, in my anger, I wished to bolt from the computer - come back and finish posting later. I felt this would not have been an honest action, nor helpful (conflict is difficult for me to deal with, particularly cerebral dissonance... I couldn't sit with liking Blake but, originally, hating one line of text that came from Blake) in my daily routine today - So I resolved to work through this problem.
As you might have guessed - the problem was never a "wrong" in the poetry - it was within my triggers, belief system, within myself - but the presence of poetry can be cathartic, mind-opening (my anger closed my mind and shut down critical thinking at the start of this post)...and extremely valuable and therapeutic for people - IF - they run through the entire process of running through the arguments on why they feel the way they do instead of bolting (like I felt like doing, initially).
The Day 723 post has been a cool exercise in humility, brought to you by the funny monkey above and is associated with The 800 Day blog and the date of Tuesday December 28 2010.
After reading the Day 723 content over on THE 800 DAYS BLOG, I find I actually disagree with the words... what's worse is, I haven't much of a leg to stand on because I'm arguing with poetry lol.
Damn, why does Blake have to write so much darned poetry all the time?
(I'll get back to this later - soon)
I do not, however, disagree with two versions (2 vids, different versions of the same tune) of Stairway To Heaven presented on the entry! WAAAAY COOL - the 2nd offering is with "Gregorian" vocalists! Nice.
Okay back to the disagreement stuff. Warning: I won't "win" this argument, it's not possible.
1. Poetry (according to mythbuster and not less than a few hundred THOUSAND others who study poetry) expression is more powerful and lasting than my argument can be, partly because it is a form for expression and, well, things must be expressed freely in order to facilitate commucation, messages, understanding and SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS... the poet, of course, begins the interaction and, as such, has the most rights in a disagreement. Besides after both the poet and dissenter are gone, the poetry still stands 'cos it was sent out into the world.
My interpretation (the reader) and reaction to the words/mood is always in relation to the first standing words... Poetry and words of the poet have the right to exist more than I have the ability to solidly disagree with the words.
Still, there is always truth in poetry...which trumps my reaction to it AND my opinion of it will always be a side-effect of the poetry while the poetry is what it is...
I've been asked a question for the past 5 years and received the same accompanying comments along with the question: Why don't you write more poetry? Your prose is often poetic, so why not just write poetry?
Answer: (short) cos' I'm a control freak lol !!!
Long answer - I want my words interpreted how I mean them and, although I love poetry, study it, use it, I am intimidated by both the power of it and the fact that once I issue it forth, it is not mine anymore. With this in mind, I'll have to say that Blake is braver and more open than I, I suppose... I am, however, still learning to interact with poetry in a more open way... I believe that once I gain clarity in my writings and am satisfied with this aspect in writing, I will feel more comfortable writing poetry and not feel I have to have so much control).
Now where was I?
Ohyeah - the exact issue of disagreement
2. What the words say to me:
"to never apologize for the burning of books." This hits a raw nerve with me as I am a collector of words (narrative, urban legends, witnessing/accounts of abuse and distress (as a mentor), Native story circles, etc) and I am part Native (Cree). Words are sacred to me (as they are, too - obviously - with Blake). The nerve part is probably that I am part Cree and understand a great deal about entire cultural references - including words - that have been obliterated, unrecoverable - from Cree culture and other Natives.
I'm probably having a hissy fit over just that one line - in fact it is just that one line that I abhor!
PROOF of the power of poetry.
I just wanted to stop and make the hissy fit as an explanation of the power of poetry because I feel that poetry is so often misunderstood as an art, as a vehicle for important statements, as a political vehicle for expression of ideas and emotions, and more. Poetry is so much more powerful and sacred than the average person knows or learns...in fact, "The Arts" are often (ie: book burning) attacked due to peoples' fear of their power.
I'm done my hissy fit and almost done my rant and will now jump over that one line that stirred so much (dare I say) aggression, discomfort and disagreement for me.
The poem, Burning Books , link supplied so you can have a look.
I do understand that the narrator of Blake's poem - whether that is intended to be Blake himself or the anonymous, unknown voice of the poem's speaker - is providing a possible viewpoint that says something like, "you likely couldn't read all those books that were burned, anyway" and "many were filled with lies, anyway" and those are also true statements...
However, in my experience, the act of burning books is a violation against humanity - not just the group/author of the books whose books are burned. It eliminates a fundamental human process - that of the experience of critical thinking and decision-making about what is or is not truth. The violation is an opportunity violently stolen away from every generation, past, present and future...with no opportunity of negotiation on this act. A book burned eliminates the past, robs the present generation of a truth or non-truth which must be sorted through, and obviously robs the future generations of the truth and non-truth, as well.
Strangely enough, this post has been a little exercise in working through the emotions that poetry stirs up and I find that writing it all out has provided a release for the original disagreement/anger-reaction I first had many moments ago...
I knew this would be an exercise as I began reviewing the Day 723 post - and whether this looks strange to most or not, I hope this writing shows the power of poetry. In the end, right about now... by having addressed the issue I had with the content (even just one line) this process has had a cathartic effect on me (Aristotle said this catharsis brought about via the arts is of tantamount importance to human beings, relationships, community, etc) and I am accepting of even the problematic line as I near the close of this post.
Originally, in my anger, I wished to bolt from the computer - come back and finish posting later. I felt this would not have been an honest action, nor helpful (conflict is difficult for me to deal with, particularly cerebral dissonance... I couldn't sit with liking Blake but, originally, hating one line of text that came from Blake) in my daily routine today - So I resolved to work through this problem.
How do ya like me now? Hissyfit and all?
As you might have guessed - the problem was never a "wrong" in the poetry - it was within my triggers, belief system, within myself - but the presence of poetry can be cathartic, mind-opening (my anger closed my mind and shut down critical thinking at the start of this post)...and extremely valuable and therapeutic for people - IF - they run through the entire process of running through the arguments on why they feel the way they do instead of bolting (like I felt like doing, initially).
The Day 723 post has been a cool exercise in humility, brought to you by the funny monkey above and is associated with The 800 Day blog and the date of Tuesday December 28 2010.
Day 724 (Tidbits)
Hey, be sure to read the Day 724 entry on Blake Hall's THE 800 DAYS blog right to the end, okay? There's an important message placed last on the post!
First a definition - so you'll understand the dedication of the poems Blake presents on Day 724...
TRIPTICH/Triptych:
Hence, the poems, dedicated to Blake's friend Magnoliazz, are a set of three!
Now, since poems take a lot out of me (emotional connections) and I explicated a portion of poetry in the last post, I'm just going to chill today and let readers go interpret the Triptych pieces dedicated to Magnoliazz themselves. Once I am caught up with Blake to within a day or two behind his posts, I will definitely be delving back into all the poetry I missed commenting on...
A few tips before I go:
Triptych pieces are best read SLOWLY
S L O W L Y
Set aside time to break in between poems - however - not a break where you jump up, go grab a drink or lunch, do an errand, then come back to read the other pieces...
A break whereby you stop reading, let the first poem settle in, derive some meaning from it - then take a few breaths and prepare to shift perception for the next piece. There may or may not be (usually but not always) two neat segues, however, poems intended as triptychs will definitely connect as a whole once all three parts are read. Often one of the pieces within a triptych will not even be from the same narrator point of view, and the little break - two times - between content sets helps your mind stay very functional if there are extreme changes in points of view between poems.
Just thought I'd add some quick tips 'cos some people see a "set" of poems and get a bit intimidated by more than one poem at once...
The TRIPTICH poetry on Day 724 is associated with Monday December 27 2010.
First a definition - so you'll understand the dedication of the poems Blake presents on Day 724...
TRIPTICH/Triptych:
- art consisting of a painting on three panels - often an altarpiece with three panels hinged together
- anything in three parts or leaves
- a writing tablet in 3 parts, whereby 2 parts fold over the center/middle section
Hence, the poems, dedicated to Blake's friend Magnoliazz, are a set of three!
Now, since poems take a lot out of me (emotional connections) and I explicated a portion of poetry in the last post, I'm just going to chill today and let readers go interpret the Triptych pieces dedicated to Magnoliazz themselves. Once I am caught up with Blake to within a day or two behind his posts, I will definitely be delving back into all the poetry I missed commenting on...
A few tips before I go:
Triptych pieces are best read SLOWLY
S L O W L Y
Set aside time to break in between poems - however - not a break where you jump up, go grab a drink or lunch, do an errand, then come back to read the other pieces...
A break whereby you stop reading, let the first poem settle in, derive some meaning from it - then take a few breaths and prepare to shift perception for the next piece. There may or may not be (usually but not always) two neat segues, however, poems intended as triptychs will definitely connect as a whole once all three parts are read. Often one of the pieces within a triptych will not even be from the same narrator point of view, and the little break - two times - between content sets helps your mind stay very functional if there are extreme changes in points of view between poems.
Just thought I'd add some quick tips 'cos some people see a "set" of poems and get a bit intimidated by more than one poem at once...
The TRIPTICH poetry on Day 724 is associated with Monday December 27 2010.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Day 729 (Tidbits)
I'm going to go ahead and post some quotes I believe in - right before reviewing the Day 729 entry on THE 800 DAYS BLOG.
Why would I do such a thing? Well... just so you get the IMPACT of what Blake does...
The quotes:
Why would I do such a thing? Well... just so you get the IMPACT of what Blake does...
The quotes:
"Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular. "
~~Aristotle.
"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does."
~~Allen Ginsberg.
"Poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history."
~~Plato.
"When a poet's mind is perfectly equipped for its work, it is constantly amalgamating disparate experiences."
~~T.S. Eliot.
"Poetry doesn't belong to those who write it, but to those who need it."
~~Unknown.
"Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance."
~~Carl Sandburg.
"Poets are masters of us ordinary men, in knowledge of the mind, because they drink at streams which we have not made accessible to science."
~~Sigmund Freud.
Unfortunately, of my fave quotes, almost all of them come from old, dead dudes - lol. I feel that in our current day and age, POETRY AND POETICS are a lost art, misunderstood and greatly undervalued. In ancient times, a great deal of time was spent on poetry and poetics in education systems. Today, many youngsters equate "poetry" with only "rhyme" that occurs at the end of every couple of lines of text or so, using the most commonly rhymed words - while alliteration, syllabic structure, apostrophe (not a punctuation mark - but an effect in poetry), synechdoche - techniques and effects - are largely ignored and even unknown to vast numbers in our civilized population.
I'm not sure how much Blake has studied poetics but his knowledge of how words go together, sometimes quite artistically - sometimes in powerful prose for effect - is worth looking at within the context of the quotes above...
Just take a few moments, please, and chill... letting the quotes above sink in... before continuing on to Blake's 800 DAYS blog.
What awaits on The 800 Days blog is
POETRY
Three Sections of Expression by Blake4d on The 800 Days blog await: "Autogenesis," "My Religion Is Not What I Want," and "Of Starlight, Crimson, and Scarlet: The Last Prophecy."
The Day 729 post is associated with Wednesday December 22 2010.
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