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Critical Analysis #2
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dracula68
Junior Member
since 2008-09-07
Posts 30
Illinois

0 posted 2008-09-11 04:36 PM



Interior Decoration

I desire neither
reason nor purpose
nor meaning

my death deserves
no summation
my life needs
no words upon a stone

I am not permanent
I will not hold
Do not cling
Do not hold

Oh to simply be
and breathe at  last

and drift away
where no wind takes hold

© Copyright 2008 Michael Pacholski - All Rights Reserved
Bob K
Member Elite
since 2007-11-03
Posts 4208

1 posted 2008-09-11 09:03 PM


Dear Dracula68,

          Interesting both as a poem and as a task.

     The task, stripped of bells and whistles, is generally described roughly this way.

     Wearing comfortable clothing, one sits upright in a chair with back straight but not rigid, feet flat on the floor and hands either placed comfortably on one's thighs or clasped loosely in one's lap.  The room is not brightly lit.  One finds a position of comfort where it is not necessary to move for up to 20 minutes.  No shifting of limbs, no scratching unless absolutely necessary.  Closing one's eyes, one sits still.  Bringing one's attention to the edges of one's nostrils, one begins by counting each inhalation up to the number ten.  Then one begins over at one.

     The only thing that one is to pay attention to is the breath and the counting.  If another though intrudes, one does not punish one's self, one does not stop, one does nothing but begin at the beginning at the number one with the breath counting.  One reaching ten, one once again begins at one.

     The point is to learn to use you attention and to allow yourself to have the clarity and clear mindedness that you speak of in your poem.  The exercise sounds simple.  It is, in fact, simple.  It is also very challenging.  I have on occasion found myself counting up in the sixties before realizing how far my attention had wandered.

     Set your alarm clock for no more than 20 minutes.  To begin with, five minutes may feel like a long time.  Everything in the world will find some way of claiming your attention during exactly those five minutes.  It is very funny when you allow yourself to think about it, but only afterward.  This is a form of zen meditation.

     Try it or not, as you wish.

Sincerely, Bob Kaven  

dracula68
Junior Member
since 2008-09-07
Posts 30
Illinois
2 posted 2008-09-12 01:29 AM


Thanks, Bob. I do -- on occasions far too seldom -- some of those deep breathing exercises. Very relaxing indeed.
chopsticks
Senior Member
since 2007-10-02
Posts 888
The US,
3 posted 2008-09-12 05:27 AM


Drac, I loved the first seven lines of your poem, shades of Omar Khayyam  .

I’m not sure of the title, something like ~ Identification proclamation ~would work better for me.

But, if it is about something like Bob said, I reckon the titles is fine.

[This message has been edited by chopsticks (09-12-2008 09:54 AM).]

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