Fallen Temples
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| Landing by Tomasz Zaczeniuk @fotowizjer |
Part 3
Aether
They never erected a temple, nor formed a cult,
Aether being too pure and blinding for mortal eyes
to fully conceive, the rarefied breath of the gods.
When darkness took night in coital embrace,
a vast river of quantum light was born from chaos;
Cosmos uncoiled itself from the event horizon.
But man is rooted in known dimensions of
human physics: he longs to touch, hold, keep.
Thus love binds only flesh, while the infinite god
waits in some wayside shrine for one true mind
to grip the quintessential thread: All turns to one.
And souls bridge through ether, in universal fusion.
This is the final part of my new series of poems, "Fallen Temples", inspired by the genius of surreal artist, Tomasz Zaczeniuk.
Also submitted to Visual Verse.
I love all your poetry. But, what can I say? We all have our favorites. And my favorite poetry, by you, always personifies the cosmos (and darkness and night and more), gives her flesh, and shows us how feelings and concepts are born. I love it because it is the sort of writing that keeps on growing in my head--your words open a glimpse into the space we don't always see, and once I'm there... it explodes wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteElegant, sensual, intelligent ~
ReplyDeleteI want to thank you, dear Magaly and Michael, for coming over to read my unprompted and unlinked poems. I worked very hard on this series, uncharacteristic for me of late, and I so appreciate your faithful readership.
ReplyDeleteThese are classic poems, Kerry, or of classical poetry, and so are wrought for a height -- empyrean, Augustan, Olympian, spare. That's what high aether breathes like in our imaginings, or rather in your gift to it. This reminds me of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus, with this temple to Aether like the one he imagined for Apollo inside our hearing: Temples do help explain why our internal opposites stretch themselves so widely, like body and soul, physical love and the divine. Such an inexorable haul up and into Aether in the final couplet.
ReplyDeleteSuch physical earth-bound beings we are yet something in ourselves strives to be a part of the ether.
DeleteThank you for your insights into psyche and poetics, Brendan. Always deeply appreciated.
This is incredibly deep and beautiful, Kerry!❤️ The imagery in this poem is a thing of wonder. Especially love; "When darkness took night in coital embrace, a vast river of quantum light was born from chaos." Woww!❤️
ReplyDeleteNot easy to turn the Big Bang into poetry, Sanaa.. but I tried.
DeleteThank you, dear friend.
To me this says that you do have to fully comprehend a thing to understand how it is beautiful. And as limited as we humans are, we think that to comprehend is to own a thing, or at least own an idea of that thing. But you might as well ascribe a definite shape to water.
ReplyDeleteAh, what a beautiful reading, Rommy. Thank you for this awesome comment.
DeleteThe Aether, U.S. Ether, has been a mystery for mzn for ages. Sometimes we made it a mystical being, others an area out of reach as the moon. Modern civilization has conquered it better than we have the moon modern science. One remaining for sure is 'spontaneous combustion' of humans. Mostly we deny it but still we give it reverence.
ReplyDelete..
Yes, indeed, Jim.
DeleteHow does one speak of things the universe holds on its star tongue..or translate it? You, my friend have found descriptions, poetry, in the vast star world that fascinates me. I am in awe.
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you so much, Susie. I do try hard to put something of my understanding of the universe, as pinprick as it may be, into words. It fascinates me too.
DeleteOh, what can be better than an amalgam of myth and science with a dash of philosophy? Your word-pictures are astounding in their heightened awareness and its transcription of this inexplicable reverence to something that is indeed so difficult to fully conceive. Your poetic brilliance lies in the movement from one stanza to another — an epic opening, the big-bang in the second, the limitations of understanding in the third, and to the philosophical and an almost spiritual acceptance in the final one.
ReplyDeleteWonderful writing, Kerry!
Thank you for your generous commentary, Anmol. I am glad I was able to incorporate so much into this poem.
DeleteYep yep yep. This raised the hair on the back of my neck (which means I'm really due for a haircut). Such wisdom and beauty that flies from your fingers.
ReplyDeleteAh! My work here is done!
Delete;-)
A stellar poem, Kerry, that caused a sharp intake of breath at its beauty. I love the imagery of:
ReplyDelete‘When darkness took night in coital embrace,
a vast river of quantum light was born from chaos;
Cosmos uncoiled itself from the event horizon.’
Thank you so much, Kim. This was a pet project of mine, so I am pleased it has translated well for the reader.
DeleteI really love this... the temple of anything you cannot compared to what we can touch and feel... not easy to praise a divinity we cannot sense.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Thus miss the point a great deal of the time.
DeleteAnd souls bridge through ether,
ReplyDeletein universal fusion.
Invariably the wandering souls let loose will readily come back to support the departing person in facing God's inquisition. Apparently a belief of some religious order.
Hank
I can understand where that belief stems from.
DeleteSounds like the Big Bang and God.
ReplyDeleteAren't they much the same?
DeleteTo become one with the universe is a lonely, independent journey... one has to find the truth alone. Love all the science in this.
ReplyDeleteScience meets Divinity in all things.
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