A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark’d, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;
Ever unreeling them—ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,—seeking the spheres, to connect them;
Till the bridge you will need, be form’d—till the ductile anchor hold;
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.
I am surprised that Kevin Straw's stupid comment is still there after two years. You would think he wouldbe embarrassed enough to remove itby now.
Spiders with its infinite patience have always been a source of inspiration.. The little arthropod conquers its surrounding., and makes a space for itself.. and our soul always surrounded yet so marooned, also tries to find a space for itself!
I'm beginning to think Mr Straw doesn't like any poetry from the past. Mind you his own poetrys not much to write home about in my opinion. Of course those who can do and in this case can't criticise. Nowhere in the poem does Whitman say a spider has thought or conscious actions so I'm not sure where he got that from.
I wrote the poem 'Patient Spider Creator Master Of Its Own Time Web Intentions', inspired by the poem 'A Noiseless Patient Spider', by the poet Walt Whitman and dedicated to Walt Whitman.
p2with his own soul 'in measureless oceans of space'; both cast ceaselessly attempting to connection to differing realities, the spider will build a physical bridge web, Whitman attempts a mind connection to somewhere not defined.
I wrote the poem 'Spider Predator Prey Symmetric Circles', inspired by my comment on the poem 'A Noiseless Patient Spider', by the poet Walt Whitman and dedicated to Walt Whitman.
p1Fascinating contrasts, Walt Whitman fixes the spider in an exact isolated location, exploring interacting with vast surrounding, with 'filament, filament, filament, out of itself; '. Whitman makes an exploration of the mind
Till the bridge you will need, be form’d—till the ductile anchor hold; Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul. beautiful poem great 10+++++++++++++++++
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
To the rude Olivarez who does not have the manners (or I suspect the intelligence) to define why my comment is stupid: Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, —seeking the spheres, to connect them... Man connects himself to the universe consciously, the spider does it unconsciously - there is no comparison. It is OK to be a fan of a poet, but not to the extent that you will not hear an ything against him or her.