I buried my father
in the sky.
Since then, the birds
clean and comb him every morning
and pull the blanket up to his chin
every night.
I buried my father underground.
Since then, my ladders
only climb down,
and all the earth has become a house
whose rooms are the hours, whose doors
stand open at evening, receiving
guest after guest.
Sometimes I see past them
to the tables spread for a wedding feast.
I buried my father in my heart.
Now he grows in me, my strange son,
my little root who won’t drink milk,
little pale foot sunk in unheard-of night,
little clock spring newly wet
in the fire, little grape, parent to the future
wine, a son the fruit of his own son,
little father I ransom with my life.
The energetics here are fascinating. The cycling of energy itself in an emotion, a personification of energy. I love the imagery of each stanza- it takes you to each new place so easily and with a caution that almost feels like a built-in love. It feels so carefully chosen and experienced.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the imagery here. The first two stanzas are easy to see and connect the metaphor of burying a loved one.
DeleteThe third/last stanza is so abstract and I had to work to see how the grapes, root, milk, foot, clock, fire, wine, fruit, and ransom all make a coherent thought. The growing of the little father makes sense with the root, grape, fruit, and wine, even the clock. But the ransom? That's strange. How or why should a ransom be needed for a deceased father? I'm sure I'm missing an important cultural clue here. I'll look into it and post a reply.
This is a great poem to help us think about death, our figurative burying of people is far more important than the physical burying or not.
I didn't find anything specifically about ransom. But according to the South China Morning Post:
ReplyDelete"The belief in Chinese folk religion is that people have multiple souls, known as ‘hun’ and ‘po’. Upon death, these souls diverge, with hun rising to the heavens and po descending into earth. Chinese funerary rituals vary with the age, cause of death, and marital and social status of the deceased, but they respond to the needs of the two souls. The primary aim is to provide comfort for the deceased and demonstrate ancestral veneration."
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2140558/why-honouring-dead-so-important-chinese-culture
Wonderful article! Thanks for posting. The cultural context changes a lot for me. Instead of just the beautiful imagery and emotion, the energy of the poem deepens with this extension of belief. The last stanza seems to be, maybe, the continued soul. I am not certain if it is an allusion to reincarnation, or at least the hope thereof, but it seems to fit ok. Holding the energy of the soul ransom for another life...?
ReplyDeleteI thought the circle of life and reincarnation every time I read it.
DeleteReincarnation has come up so often in a lot of the poems we read. There is such a beautiful amount of hope in such a concept. The Circle of Life- (have you seen the new Lion King trailer!? Can't wait!). We may have to have a history lesson sometime on the viewpoints from different cultures and their views on death. They truly change everything about poetry from different cultures. It actually almost baffles me more that when we read poetry we do not really know a person's deep down viewpoints at all....where they stand on life versus death versus love, politics, laughter, family, etc. How do we really know what anybody is saying ever?!
DeleteWe usually don't. If a writer wants to reach the widest audience, I'd say it's on them to be clear as possible. Poetry is different. It's a form of expression that is less concerned with clarity of ideas. That's one of the things that makes it fun, but can be frustrating.
DeleteI like the literary theory that disregards the autbor and any of their intent, but leanring more about an author almost always increases my understanding and appreciation of literature.
Lion King trailer was really good!
DeleteDid you get a chance to catch Lion King yet? I went this last weekend and I think a story like that with the nostalgia and duration of memory is highly unlikely to disappoint. "The Great Kings of the past are up there....watching over us..."
DeleteHaha, I would have rather watched the cartoon from the 90s. This remake didn't add anything besides a couple new Seth Rogan jokes. I remember practically every line, and it was too similar to enjoy. I'm sure people who didn't know/remember the 90s version liked it.
DeleteI loved the recent Jungle Book, and I heard that was the same as the cartoon too. But I couldn't recall the disney cartoon very well. So for that movie it was fresh and very engaging. I think the special effects were better, and the story is better too.
I think you may have a NoBo!
If you had to watch The Lion King again tomorrow in the theaters, and you could choose between the two movies, what would you rewatch?