Artist: m-rx
On Retreat
When I sit beside
you and can settle into
the reverie you
offer all of us
I marvel at how the world
just changes color.
So I offered to
snap your picture, capture truths,
maybe your soul's shape
peeking out your eyes,
and you said you would not shave
so I could not steal
your soul, guarded so
by stubble, and you would not
look direct at me.
written January 27, 2011 8:48 PM
written for Big Tent Poetry
go there, read many poems.
To explain...the Taoists assert the most enlightened among us will resist being held back as they take their journey into the mountains. Though they command the very winds at times, they will never look like the masters they are, unless, awake, you see with a deep spiritual sight. This man looks holy to me. I hope he does to you.
image and poem, both.
ReplyDeletelovely, reflective work.
He does look wise. Of course he could be drunk. Sometimes it's hard to tell.
ReplyDelete...your soul, guarded so by stubble - a truly insightful line. It rubs right up against me.
Your view of the subject of the painting is intriguing, I saw suffering, despair. But I prefer your interpretation of a feisty but wise man.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like one who has lived life...
ReplyDeleteHarlequin, most of the artists who appear on that website are Russian. Does that help?
ReplyDeleteMr.Starfish, of course he is drunk. How could I have not thought that??
Viv, why would being wise preclude suffering? Under difficult karma, it may even require despair for a time. Remember the Buddha, but if you meet him on the road you must kill him. Thus despair ultimately vanishes, but grief is one piece of eternity, if only from memories.
Jinsky, the creative dream is what has brought him here. What he looks like is collaborative, the artist who took the picture, me as the artist who has introduced him here, you, the artist of your own soul at least if not of his at the moment of your gaze upon him, and only then, down deep in the (drunken?) heart of things, his unique fire burns.
What a life etched on that face, longing, despair, beauty, the soft soul of warmth and a radiance.
ReplyDeleteYour poem is a reverie of him. As the photograph is a witness.
A beauty!
My unknown Master blesses you.
ReplyDeleteWhat weary lines of life have been carved into this man's face. Your words capture that essence, and together with the photograph, provide some insight regarding the world as taken in by his eyes.
ReplyDeleteoh, those eyes.
ReplyDeletethese lines speak to me:
I marvel at how the world
just changes color.
wonderful work, christopher.
His eyes tell a story as well as your
ReplyDeletepoem. Nice work!
Pamela
Those eyes, and that spirituality, and yes, serenity...I see it all in your poetry...too
ReplyDeletesingular thoughts
I am sort of taken with the idea of 'drunk wisdom' and will ponder it for later writing and reflection.
ReplyDeleteNice poem and it works well with the photo...
lightverse, angie, Pamela, gautami, thank you.
ReplyDeleteMark, drunk wisdom is a Sufi idea for sure. Devotional love of God in God's Presence is often depicted as drunkenness, and the sanctuary in this context is likened to a tavern. This happens over and over again in Sufi poetry, especially the poetry of Hafiz.
Well-paired words and image. Wisdom comes in many colors.
ReplyDeleteYes, he does look holy, as though life's lessons have been accepted and etched into his face. I enjoyed your profile, as well, Christopher.
ReplyDeletehttp://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/perfect-family-big-tent-poetry/
Thanks for your reply - I like the way you link the man, the photographer, yourself and myself, as part of the entire soul... We are all part of such a Oneness...
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of his soul guarded so by stubble! I enjoyed your poem.
ReplyDeleteThe man does look holy to me... peaceful and wise, too. Your profound poem matches the photo perfectly!
ReplyDelete~laurie
Tumble, thank you.
ReplyDeletel2w2, welcome and thank you.
Jinsky, the Buddhists say we are interdependent and they mean not as some elective choice but deeply and essentially.
Jeanne, that was an inspired phrase. Those things happen by serendipity. I am not in charge except to make sure I pay attention and don't screw that sort of happy good luck up.
Laurie, thank you. I think with Robin back up the line that he might be drunk...:D That would be, he is God's Own Drunk! As I said already the Sufis are happy with that kind of metaphor. Drunks are happy with the real thing.
This poem is simply perfect. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteVery well done! Love this old man, what a great character!
ReplyDeleteIncredible face, in the photo, reflected in the poem. Yes. He's one of the holies.
ReplyDelete