I reserve my rights to multiplicity
To vagaries involving philosophy
An impulse toward exploration
Liberalities of thought
Because, despite the ever present pressure
To decide, act, take sides
I am still learning what it is to live
A good, whole, engaged, and actualized life.
If sometimes, you find me, like a puppy
Chewing on a new toy –
say, post-structuralism.
Be kind.
Let me get the feel of it
Before yelling that I’ve slobbered
On something important.
Here is the writer who with all his heart and soul, with his art, in anguish and travail offers nourishment – there is the reader who’ll have none of it, and if he wants, it’s only in passing, offhandedly, until the phone rings. Life’s trivia are your undoing. You are like a man who has challenged a dragon to a fight but will be yapped into a corner by a little dog. from Ferdydurke
I’m an Executive Director with a doctorate in education, a consultant, painter, photographer, composer, poet, and vocalist.
Language casts sheaves of reality upon the social body, stamping it and violently shaping it… Language as a whole gives everyone the same power of becoming an absolute subject through its exercise. But gender, an element of language, works upon this ontological fact to annul it as far as women are concerned and corresponds to a constant attempt to strip them of the most precious thing for a human being – subjectivity. Gender is an ontological impossibility because it tries to accomplish the division of Being. But Being is not divided. God or Man as being are One and whole. So what is this divided Being introduced into language through gender? It is an impossible Being, it is a Being that does not exist, an ontological joke, a conceptual maneuver to wrest from women what belongs to them by right: conceiving of oneself as a total subject through the exercise of language. The result of the imposition of gender, acting as a denial at the very moment when one speaks, is to deprive women of the authority of speech, and to force them to make their entrance in a crablike way, particularizing themselves and apologizing profusely. The result is to deny them any claim to the abstract, philosophical, political discourses that give shape to the social body. Gender then must be destroyed. The possibility of its destruction is given through the very exercise of language. For each time I say ‘I’ I reorganize the world from my point of view and through abstraction I lay claim to universality. This fact holds true for every locutor.
All the things that really matter to us are impossible…Writing poetry is impossible. I don’t know how to write a poem. A poem – there has to be a part of it that is not my own will; it comes from somewhere that I don’t know. There is so much that comes out of what we don’t know and what we don’t have any control over. I think that one of the only things we can learn as we get older is a certain humility. – from Doing the Impossible
Chromapoetica
Bravo Anna! I’ve felt much the same way by times, and even gotten the odd whack with a newspaper! 🙂 Love the language and the flow of your words. Wonderful expression and presentation. Welcome to D’Verse! 🙂
Love the comment about the newspaper! Thanks for the wonderful welcome.
ha. play on with that new toy, slobber just adds character…smiles.
Yeah, everything in my house has ‘character’.
Well, Anna, this is definitely the first time I’ve seen post-structuralism referred to as a toy. Good poem, especially the last two line of stanza two.
Thank you for the feedback; glad to be the first.
Great poem, and I know how you feel…I quite often feel like that puppy! Fabulous words.. 🙂
So glad you can relate. Chew on; power to the puppies!
oh i like this..think we’re all learning daily and having the freedom to learn and try things out without fear to get beaten for it…this is just a big win.. welcome at dVerse
Thanks, it’s a marvelous, fascinating world out there, intellectual liberty is vital to empowerment.
Great imagery there… I like it ~
Thank you for the feedback, glad you liked it.
Art and poesy hidden in the new toy I think. Would like to chase it around the pub floor for awhile and see if it opens into something else. Could it be a “transformer”? I like the way it flowed. I think we can be friends and so glad you came by for a spell today. Come back anytime, ya hear?
Thanks, Gay
I love the idea of chasing it around the floor! Great wit with the transformer reference. Thanks for the feedback.
Excellent! I love the idea of you, as a puppy, chewing on post-structuralism (as a toy!) such a great sense of fun here…
Thanks, I’m so glad you stopped by and enjoyed the fun! Some of my last posts have been ever so serious. I wouldn’t want to grow up lopsided.
What is the world without exploration? Without experimentation? It is our wont and our capability – embrace it, and let none ever turn a foul eye upon it. And I loved the image example you used, of you as a puppy…aren’t we all, in our ways, chewing on the bits lie tosses our curious way?
Yes, the world needs more inquisitive puppies. Thanks for the encouragement.
Amazing write.. and these lines,
“Chewing on a new toy –
say, post-structuralism.”–
very creative.. mind if I tag along for some reads of yours?
Lynne
Sure, then we can, as Gay suggested, chase some ideas around the floor. Sounds like fun!
Excellent write, love the way you structured this piece. Glad I saw your link at the pub, will be looking forward to reading more of your work:)
Thanks for the feedback and I hope you come back. There’s usually lots of variety, from experimental forms to philosophical arguments. I hope you’ll find something you enjoy.
Being judgmental is a waste of time, and things have to be chewed before they’re digested, yes? I enjoyed the way you spoke here, with a subtle rhythm and grace of expression. Also enjoyed your sestina–one of the most challenging(and most rewarding) forms I’ve worked with. You did it full justice, as well as your topic.
Thanks for the reading the sestina! I always enjoy a good challenge. Very nice to meet you.
Chewing on a new toy… I love that. Here’s to lifelong learning and nice to meet you!
I adore the process of learning. Thanks for visiting it’s lovely to meet you too!
“I reserve my rights to multiplicty” great opening line, really set the tone for the whole piece, nicely done!
Thank you, I’m still wrapping my head around your theme song video.
hi, you speak of the wild unrestrained feeling of finding a new toy. nice to meet you.
In second verse u have beautifully the way we live and feel….. creatively written and an enjoyable read 🙂
Thank you, it’s nice to see you again.
Oh! The ending is perfect! I don’t want anyone interrupting my processes before I’ve completed my exploration. Love this.
Thank you for your kind words. It’s always difficult to carve out the space to explore, learn, and grow.
Beautiful. I just love the closing lines: “Be kind.
Let me get the feel of it
Before yelling that I’ve slobbered
On something important.”
Such a powerful statement. Nice to meet you!
Thank you, nice to meet you too!
Everything new is so precious, special, so very important. The sentiment is absolutely dead on.
http://timkeen40.wordpress.com
Thanks for sharing the sentiment and taking the time to read and comment.
Heck, I’ve been chewing on stuff for years. Be careful with Derrida (unpleasant aftertaste).
Ha, I threw up transhumanism on the rug after only an hour and avoid it to this day! Some philosophical arguments have the delectability of Italy’s most underrated cheese. We took that out of the wrapper and had to run out of the kitchen.
I think we all need the allowance to freely express our mind as we explore something new, and enjoy the process of discovery and transformation if any. 🙂