"What is
not me?"
Don't ask that question
much.
I ate some food, and I
shook some hands, while
breathing in a crowded room:
Her palm, someone's
out-breath, a plowman's pull.
All into my skin, my lungs,
my stomach going full.
Little points-of-
trade,
where I
grow- or- fade, as
where I
grow- or- fade, as
the world comes to touch.
I was thinking so hard about where
to draw
The line— I didn't see anything between the time
I left that driveway and now, this
midway,
where the road switches pavements.
…............................................................Rrshhhshhhrshhh—psshssshssspssh..................
My! … Was I even driving? (if I
am presence-of-mind and such.)
I was definitely thinking:
“What is me?” Don't ask
That question much.
"Went to a mixer with Hannah tonight, at her friend Sarah's house. It was really pleasant—met a guy named W who works with marine science at UCSB, making software to help governments create feasible laws for marine ecosystems; a guy named D, who builds houses, did Peace Corps in the Philippines, got married at 21 and has been divorced for 15 years, is currently 51, really cool person; and R, a massage therapist who has lived in Chicago, New York, NorCal, and now Santa Barbara, and really dreads a certain client with unearthly body-odor who ALWAYS orders the 2-hour massage.
ReplyDelete"People are fascinating, and complex, and full of experiences and interests and insights. So humbling to be around other people and really let them wash over me; so precious and exciting that I get to sit and be while they pour themselves out into the common air. Simply to say 'Thank you,' and appreciate their existence, made my life feel worthwhile tonight."
– 22 October 2015
This poem is filled with ideas of Eastern philosophy, and it especially makes me think of the Beatles song “Within You Without You”, with its question of where the self begins and ends, and the idea of the “line”, which serves as a sort of ego to divide the self from the non-self. My maternal grandparents are Buddhist, and an early exposure to these Eastern philosophies has always left me fascinated by such questions. The poem poses the question of how much of the self is merely the sensations and functions within a body, and how much of the self exists beyond, in the life and experiences of the world without. Just as we are part of all existence, is all existence part of us? Especially interesting is the question of consciousness posed by the poem. Are mindless actions, such as driving, still carried out by the self? Or do the limits of consciousness mark the boundaries of the self? I am no Zen master, but the way I see it, it all comes down to perception. In my understanding, Eastern thought claims there are different levels of the self. The self we perceive is constrained by our ego, preventing us from seeing that, as George Harrison best put it, “We’re all one, and life flows on within you and without you”.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this, I was kind of hoping your 3rd comment would be on "Pool of Senses" (which sort of begins to answer this question).
DeleteIt's a mind-pretzeler, isn't it :)
This poem discusses an interesting concept of human exchange. The experience had by the speaker involves him interacting with others and the essence he receives through those interactions. I'm not familiar with the Eastern philosophy mentioned in the comment above or in the title of the poem but I interpreted the poem how I explained above. Relationships are all about giving and receiving which is what I think is happening here. In my personal relationships I always try and follow the philosophy of giving out what I want to receive in return. The opening line, "What is not me?" seems rhetorical and ironic. Rhetorical because there truly is no answer to be given and ironic because the only possible answer is nothing. The concept being described would require everyone and everything to be interconnected and therefore nothing cannot be a part of something else. This idea of a "wheel of life" is comforting because there's no way someone could truly feel alone if this idea is true. Also, if this truly is taken from Eastern philosophy, it's understandable why their culture is much more codependent and less individualist than our Western one, because they feel more connected to one another.
ReplyDelete:)
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