This is a small poetry club that started as a poetry email exchange between two friends. Our goal is to read a poem everyday, and this blog is one way to help keep us accountable. There is only one valid rule in poetry club: there are no rules in poetry club. Read any poem, in any order, with any or no interactions. You decide. We only suggest you read poetry!
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8 Feb: "In your light..." by Rumi
In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.
It is well known these "glimpses" that we share. The insights and the moments, the Flow into which we feel that life understands us, and we, it. I have been learning that the practice of "Yoga" or the practice of practices of life aim at allowing these glimpses to become longer, more prevalent, more effortless. It is through the practice of breathing and asana and meditation that we lengthen the time between thoughts before the thoughts themselves eventually may disappear altogether.
it is in these moments that we feel this "dancing in our chest"...and the understanding of love, beauty, and all things wonderful.
I really like the thought that the inspiration to create is always dancing inside you, and sometimes when you're able to seize it, you make something cool and beautiful.
The word "seize" made me think about this idea and gave me an interesting visual. If we view this inspiration as a picture object almost floating around inside of us then seizing the "picture/object" would be most appropriate. BUT if we view inspiration as "music/sounds" or the infamous "light (bulb)" then mustn't we use the verbiage "listen" in order to better capture these sounds dancing inside of us? Even the term dancing is quite relevant here- music/dancing...sound/movement.
It is interesting how we interpret the second person in the poem differently.
I see a narrator praising God's greatness (not that I agree). AJ and YC saw glimpses and inspiration respectively. The unstated you/your makes the poem great because the reader has to decide and think what inside us make us great or able to create art.
Personally I see the combination of genes and circumstance that give people the insight to achieve. But Rumi was unaware of genes.
Idea. Does the nature/nurture outlook strip away agency more or less than a God is great outlook?
Jimbo- I just reread Siddartha and your comment really hit a similar thread in that book. At the end of the book after all of Siddartha's different journeys to enlightenment he comes across the ferryman who has been on the river his whole life and states to his friend Govinda, "This ferryman has known more about enlightenment his entire life than I (who was a spiritual wanderer, etc.) by just knowing the way of the River."
In this thread it makes me wonder if Rumi (or any of us) NEED to know about genes in order to understand the greatness beget from birth? So many achieve/create beautiful works without knowing...
Nobody needs to know it. I'd say the more we know the better our understanding of things are, but to get back to Siddartha. I'd argue Siddarthas understanding was better because he experienced and knew more about he world. Siddartha was being modest, finally. He learned that everything was like the river: life, time, himself, everyone and e everything.
That's awesome you reread Siddartha. I read it every year, since 2009
It is well known these "glimpses" that we share. The insights and the moments, the Flow into which we feel that life understands us, and we, it. I have been learning that the practice of "Yoga" or the practice of practices of life aim at allowing these glimpses to become longer, more prevalent, more effortless. It is through the practice of breathing and asana and meditation that we lengthen the time between thoughts before the thoughts themselves eventually may disappear altogether.
ReplyDeleteit is in these moments that we feel this "dancing in our chest"...and the understanding of love, beauty, and all things wonderful.
I really like the thought that the inspiration to create is always dancing inside you, and sometimes when you're able to seize it, you make something cool and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe word "seize" made me think about this idea and gave me an interesting visual. If we view this inspiration as a picture object almost floating around inside of us then seizing the "picture/object" would be most appropriate. BUT if we view inspiration as "music/sounds" or the infamous "light (bulb)" then mustn't we use the verbiage "listen" in order to better capture these sounds dancing inside of us? Even the term dancing is quite relevant here- music/dancing...sound/movement.
DeleteIt is interesting how we interpret the second person in the poem differently.
ReplyDeleteI see a narrator praising God's greatness (not that I agree). AJ and YC saw glimpses and inspiration respectively. The unstated you/your makes the poem great because the reader has to decide and think what inside us make us great or able to create art.
Personally I see the combination of genes and circumstance that give people the insight to achieve. But Rumi was unaware of genes.
Idea. Does the nature/nurture outlook strip away agency more or less than a God is great outlook?
Jimbo- I just reread Siddartha and your comment really hit a similar thread in that book. At the end of the book after all of Siddartha's different journeys to enlightenment he comes across the ferryman who has been on the river his whole life and states to his friend Govinda, "This ferryman has known more about enlightenment his entire life than I (who was a spiritual wanderer, etc.) by just knowing the way of the River."
ReplyDeleteIn this thread it makes me wonder if Rumi (or any of us) NEED to know about genes in order to understand the greatness beget from birth? So many achieve/create beautiful works without knowing...
Nobody needs to know it. I'd say the more we know the better our understanding of things are, but to get back to Siddartha. I'd argue Siddarthas understanding was better because he experienced and knew more about he world. Siddartha was being modest, finally. He learned that everything was like the river: life, time, himself, everyone and e everything.
DeleteThat's awesome you reread Siddartha. I read it every year, since 2009