Original poem reprinted online here: "Possible Elegy" by José María Hinojosa
Originally read: December 2, 2012
More information about the Poet: José María Hinojosa
So one (of my many) weakness I have as a writer/reader and as a human being is to over complicate things. That's why I try to stick to 15 minutes when I write something down. The longer I take, the more I doubt what I write --- it's too easy to understand or I should refine my word choices, and then, after many hours, my mind (and real life) becomes a drama fest filled with tears, existentialist depression, and wanderings. [yes I did edit this again after posting it -- it's not perfect!]
I want to focus on the last comment I wrote:
"Yet this line somewhat bothers me 'No one knows why' What does the 'why' refer to? The speaker started, what waters you'll drown, what land you'll fall -- If I read this line as an existential statement, then the next line, 'but, I, yes I, know!' has a sense of a tragic bravado. He has to know (with such exclamation). If he didn't then his journey is meaningless, his existence meaningless"
I told a student the other day to not dismiss the complexity of the simple. I'm telling myself now -- why complicate meaning if it's just so simple? It goes back to the beginning comment (I'll just summarize) where I really thought this poem was boring. The rhetorical questions that answers itself (you'll land on something -- you'll be at your destination). What's at stake in the poem is dealt with easily (so what if the no one knows? Life's journey only matters to one living it [omg -- yolo]).
So I was trying to find something more in it -- and I did. I probably continue to over complicate my analysis and life. There's nothing else after after this point.
Originally read: December 2, 2012
More information about the Poet: José María Hinojosa
So one (of my many) weakness I have as a writer/reader and as a human being is to over complicate things. That's why I try to stick to 15 minutes when I write something down. The longer I take, the more I doubt what I write --- it's too easy to understand or I should refine my word choices, and then, after many hours, my mind (and real life) becomes a drama fest filled with tears, existentialist depression, and wanderings. [yes I did edit this again after posting it -- it's not perfect!]
I want to focus on the last comment I wrote:
"Yet this line somewhat bothers me 'No one knows why' What does the 'why' refer to? The speaker started, what waters you'll drown, what land you'll fall -- If I read this line as an existential statement, then the next line, 'but, I, yes I, know!' has a sense of a tragic bravado. He has to know (with such exclamation). If he didn't then his journey is meaningless, his existence meaningless"
I told a student the other day to not dismiss the complexity of the simple. I'm telling myself now -- why complicate meaning if it's just so simple? It goes back to the beginning comment (I'll just summarize) where I really thought this poem was boring. The rhetorical questions that answers itself (you'll land on something -- you'll be at your destination). What's at stake in the poem is dealt with easily (so what if the no one knows? Life's journey only matters to one living it [omg -- yolo]).
So I was trying to find something more in it -- and I did. I probably continue to over complicate my analysis and life. There's nothing else after after this point.
Comments
Post a Comment