There is power in naming the dread. I was just telling a friend today about a struggle that had gained inordinate proportions until I could name it. This is a good poem, Mark.
Abigail, thank you for your clarifying comment. I honestly didn't 'get' what Mark was talking about really..... (hi Mark!) until I read your thoughts here--when we name the dark, the demonic, the hard, the horrible, whatever it is pursuing us--moving it into the light will lessen its power.
Yes, Jody! Naming is so powerful. Bearing each other's burdens is real. I was praying with a friend today and again experienced that lightening of putting words to the hard. This poem captures so much.
The least appreciated insight to share in the present time might just be that many of our boogeymen are self-imagined. (Least appreciated maybe, but that doesn't make it any less true.)
Many years ago, I hit a wall hard…call it what you want…a nervous breakdown or a burnout…but it was very much like what you describe in this excellent poem.
Thank you for sharing that, Johannes – it's unfortunately a common thread in the cloth we wear in the West. We have so much free time to spiral in our own thought patterns.
Befuddlement - sure. Thoughts about a relative who suffers from an exaggerated fear of germs, and danger -- sure. But rejection. No. In fact, I keep following you just to hone my brain.
The poem was not "generated" if your mind made it. Better to distinguish and say either "created" or "made" about what is born in meaning by a human soul, and reserve "generate" for the machine, accentuating its mind- and meaninglessness. You don't see yourself as a "poem generator", do you?
I do see myself as a poem generator, in fact! To generate is to give genesis. I am not above using machine-colonized terms to reclaim words on behalf of human creativity. I'll point you to Merriam-Webster's definition: I mean all of the above. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/generate
There is power in naming the dread. I was just telling a friend today about a struggle that had gained inordinate proportions until I could name it. This is a good poem, Mark.
Thank you, Abigail. It’s amazing how much authority a petty tyrant will hold onto until he’s shown his own lack of stature.
Abigail, thank you for your clarifying comment. I honestly didn't 'get' what Mark was talking about really..... (hi Mark!) until I read your thoughts here--when we name the dark, the demonic, the hard, the horrible, whatever it is pursuing us--moving it into the light will lessen its power.
Thank you.
And thank you Mark. Wow. Again.
Yes, Jody! Naming is so powerful. Bearing each other's burdens is real. I was praying with a friend today and again experienced that lightening of putting words to the hard. This poem captures so much.
Shadow-boxing. Yes indeed.
The least appreciated insight to share in the present time might just be that many of our boogeymen are self-imagined. (Least appreciated maybe, but that doesn't make it any less true.)
Thanks, James. I hear ya. It’s hard to see through the boogeyman sometimes.
Very good stuff man, keep it up
Thanks a bunch, man!
"Name its truth untrue." Well damn.
Thanks for reading, Sara. I’m glad that resonated.
Many years ago, I hit a wall hard…call it what you want…a nervous breakdown or a burnout…but it was very much like what you describe in this excellent poem.
Thank you for sharing that, Johannes – it's unfortunately a common thread in the cloth we wear in the West. We have so much free time to spiral in our own thought patterns.
REally -- that caused unsubscribing? !!!
Befuddlement - sure. Thoughts about a relative who suffers from an exaggerated fear of germs, and danger -- sure. But rejection. No. In fact, I keep following you just to hone my brain.
Yeah, I had the same response as you here Kirk.
To each their own, I suppose. It’s good to hear from you, Kirk!
Ah yes, the power of the Word. And, in sonnet form, it's even stronger.
Thanks, Portia! I really appreciate how you read actively. It's a blessing.
It's my duty as a reader but, mostly, a privilege and a pleasure, Mark!
Wow... the line about being able to fight a physical foe one can actually see definitely got me. Well done, sir!
Thank you, Jody!
A comment on your AI notice:
The poem was not "generated" if your mind made it. Better to distinguish and say either "created" or "made" about what is born in meaning by a human soul, and reserve "generate" for the machine, accentuating its mind- and meaninglessness. You don't see yourself as a "poem generator", do you?
I do see myself as a poem generator, in fact! To generate is to give genesis. I am not above using machine-colonized terms to reclaim words on behalf of human creativity. I'll point you to Merriam-Webster's definition: I mean all of the above. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/generate
Accepted.