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Critical Analysis #2
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The Ferry Ride (Mindelay, part 2)
| Critical Analysis #2 |
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The Ferry Ride (Mindelay, part 2) |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
Lo. La. Lo. La. Le. Lo. La. Le. The current along with an onboard engine, Carried the junk to a gauntlet Of small islands. A break from the waves, A natural barrier, an unseen reef, Lulled or sang or moaned a fall As a young Thai boy sang over the melody. "What are you looking for in here, Charles?" "I'm looking for hope." "I shall bring you hope, my old friend. Just don't get in my way." Abide. These lumps narrowed the stream, a stream Still filled with salt and wrecks and divers. "A lack of seamanship," A Brit said. An inexplicable smile. From the houses, built one upon the other But never straight, never symmetrical, leering Over the sea and always looking as if they would Fall like so many before them. A homemade tower of Babel, a taciturn road to hell, A single evangelical laments his post. "Basic construction techniques," another said. But my boy smiled and pointed to the few in use, "Look, Daddy, Look. It's all in my Dr. Suess book." In the opposing direction, a line of boats and ships, On the dock, another line of soldiers and children, Weapons, bandages, and drum beats. My wife Gave a quizzical stare, and one broke, "We do what we always do. We fight until We can fight no more." But it was from another that I heard, "We are worn out with trying to be human." Lo. La. Lo. La. Le. Lo. La. Le. Written by a white man at Pomona college, Poems from a Holocaust survivor, the other one, the one in the Pacific, the one with the Church tower still standing, the one Johnny Cash singing a U2 song Doesn't sing about. Some go for the cause, some go for money, But no one ever asks, "Is it any good?" The world will not end with a bang, Certainly not with a whimper. It ends in an abstraction. Will any of this ever be forgotten? "Yes," That was the answer when we asked If this was the correct direction To the station or if, in fact, we headed In circles, back to Bellona where Time was undone and people no longer Spoke in rhyme or rhythm but in rumblings, What they heard again and again With a squint, talking to themselves, Mumbling the same theme again and again, Back to Bellona where time was undone And people no longer spoke in rhyme or rhythm But in rumblings with a squint, "Yes." Time was undone . . . . "Yes." Around one more bend, darkness returned, The dock, sinking with the weight of those Ready to leave, lighted by fireworks Like Apollo watching the destruction Of the resurrection ship waiting, Dreading the inevitable rescue, protruded And blocked further passage. We left Our junk behind and waded through Voices: "I shall bring you hope." "Lo. La. Le." "There can only be one" "We are the future" "A storm is coming" "To wound the Autumnal City" "Things fall apart" "We are weary. . . time is out of joint, Unhinged, undone," Until we reached the intersection where Einstein meets Godel and the abandoned Subway station called Mindelay. [This message has been edited by Brad (11-17-2006 08:27 PM).] |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Intriguing...and requires more thought than I can give it right now. (football Sunday yanno) But there's a LOT here, (Einstein, even!) I'll be back. But y'got me trippin' here, Brad.  |
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hush Senior Member
since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653Ohio, USA |
I'm not sure I entirely get this Brad, but I did fall in love with: 'Will any of this ever be forgotten? "Yes," That was the answer when we asked If this was the correct direction To the station or if, in fact, we headed In circles, back to Bellona where Time was undone and people no longer Spoke in rhyme or rhythm but in rumblings, What they heard again and again With a squint, talking to themselves, Mumbling the same theme again and again, Back to Bellona where time was undone And people no longer spoke in rhyme or rhythm But in rumblings with a squint, "Yes." Time was undone . . . . "Yes."' I reminded me a little of the trailers for that movie, "deja Vu," but without the annoying presence of Denzel Washington. |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
I'm still not "getting it" either, but I'm not sure if I am supposed to... I smell allusions here, and suspect they are tied together with customs of which I am ignorant. It read to me like a translation--I wish you'd pop in and tell us if we are getting warm. |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
Well, this is this second of a sequence beginning with "The Narrow Road". It's not a translation. I don't mind telling you about the allusions, but I had hoped that some of what was obscure in the previous poem is a little clearer now. If you have time, plug some of the stuff into a search engine, not all of course, some of it just comes from personal experience. You know things, phrases, words that have stayed with me over the years. Ah, a lot of both poems come from two books from Samuel R. Delany. |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
I feel guilty about doing this, but I'm trying to put the two poems together and, at the same time trying to keep them separate. Does that make any sense? |
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hush Senior Member
since 2001-05-27
Posts 1653Ohio, USA |
Um... I think I'm closer to getting it now... "What are you looking for in here, Charles?" "I'm looking for hope." "I shall bring you hope, my old friend." Just don't get in my way." Could you omit the quotation mark at the end of the third line so it's clear it's still the same person talking? (This, BTW, makes much more sense now that you explained it in the other thread... but as an FYI, even having seen the movies, I doubt I would have remembered where it came from.) |
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