4 March 19 The One, First Movement (Arriving), Song 2 – Dis-membered – segment 3

Today’s post contains the third and final segment of the second Song, “Dis-membered,” so that makes two Songs completed. Upcoming posts will offer the third Song, and so on, through Song 23. In this segment, we remain in the younger years of our “hero,” so articulation is at that level, not as an adult would speak. However, because this is a poetic work, I’ve attempted to put into words what can only be felt. I hope I’ve succeeded to some degree.

                        I feel letters and words trickling through my 

veins, close as blood, hard as stones, raising me

                                    voiceless, welcoming and restful, listening  to

these new sounds sliding inside a still pool

                        I sit straight trying hard to understand 

ants swarming on a rough-white page, not a

stripe out of place, not a pointless stroke made

                        The swirls and tracks too quiet make me want 

to shout, “Go away!  Let me out!” I bear

                                    emptiness, exhaustion, left far behind

                                    Sitting up straight when I want to run

                        No one knows the sonorous rhymes tickling 

my mind – they recite – I listen inside

                        Someone I know tells me to go away

                        I’m sad. I’m tired. But I don’t want to sleep

                        Maybe I’ll walk out and stay with that tree

                                    sitting slight under leaves maybe I’ll see 

enough to help me forget where I’m now

                                    but I’m beginning to think there’s no way 

out so I’ll turn small and round out of the way 

on river bottom, grand seed that I was

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walk alone and listen to stories

            very good stories that I tell myself

            about a charming someone who’s coming soon 

All I must do is wait, watch, and be here

            when over that hill the one will appear

This lovely story a certain secret

            I never told -never - not even once

            because then all of it would disappear

Alone again, staring in that mirror

When the one I wait for finally comes

We’ll wear black with gold threads, ride fast horses

            Long hair, manes, and tails streaming behind

We won’t have to speak. We’ll know in our minds

the love we’ll hide in a ruby red case

I must not stop watching, but I now decide

I’ll take the dream, put it in a silver 

bowl and make a fire with black clouds of smoke

so the one who’s coming can find the way

For now, I walk listening to the story

            the sun is going down - I can barely 

see the hill and no one is riding fast

toward me, the one who is waiting, only

black tree limbs painted on the darkening sky

and me, telling the story, asking why

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dipping a tender toe into the stars

one delicate, pale naked toe plunges

with no fear, breaking the surface tension

sliding into the shimmering blue pool

Standing on one leg, naked in the chill 

I feel the edge of the stone under foot

Far out on the white moon-water, a mass

surges below the surface seeing warm

toe bravely breaking the water’s tightness

The vibration of the leviathan

Submerged toe in darkness, naked, waiting

Ripples glide out shattering the ashen moon 

The largest wave heaves toward the moonlit shore

It is coming for me huge with purpose

I plunge the foot - a beacon for this One

I hear a bellow resounding toward me 

I inhale the mist driven before it

I feel the light before I hear the sound

I hold steady, resolved, breathing

                                    Waiting     

Background

One place to start this part of the discussion is with the title of this Song: “Dis-membered.” Why the hyphen, you may ask. Compare the first and second Songs, and determine the approximate human age that they cover. A very young child cannot tell the difference between itself and the rest of the world, including other people. As the child matures, people and things start to separate into “me” and “other.” Thus, the hyphen, the separation. Something is taken away (i.e., “dis-“), and the sense of self becomes part of the other “members” in the child’s circle. On the other hand, the usual meaning of “dismembered” is to take apart, especially related to the limbs of a living being. This image equates to the harsh reality that comes upon the very young person: I am not the center of the world. In this journey, the person in question may well be more in touch than usual with the universe, the “all,” the cosmos. Here lies a hint to the italicized passages.

Exploration 1: What events/experiences remain with you from childhood? Can you articulate one or more? Are they more or less complete, or are they jumbled bits and pieces? Is it worth trying to capture this time of life? Why or why not?

Exploration 2: Have you noticed the italicized lines? They are both purposeful and meaningful. Can you explain why they are used? Take a stab, and I’ll answer you, giving you feedback.

Exploration 3: Here we have the first explicit reference to “the one.” In a young person’s mind, who or what do you think “the one” is that the main character is waiting for?

Exploration 4: What is happening in the final italicized section at the end? Who or what is approaching the central character?

NEXT: “Song Three: Iciclestars”