I am not interested
in my body-
the part that stinks
& rots & brings forth
life,
the part that the ground
swallows,
death giving birth
to death-
all of life,
considered
from the body's
point of view,
is a downhill slide
& all our small
preservatives
& griefs
cannot reverse the trend.
All sensualists
turn puritan
at the end-
turning up lust's soil
& finding bones
beneath the rich volcanic
dirt.
Some sleep in shrouds
& some in coffins;
some swear off
procreation, others turn
vegetarian, or worse:
they live on air-
on sheer platonic meals
of pure ideas;
once gluttons of the flesh,
they now become
gourmets of the mind.
How to resist that
when the spacious earth
swallows her children
so insatiably,
when all our space-age gods
are grounded,
& only the moan of pleasure
or the rasp of pain
can ever satisfy
the body's appetite?
& yet my body,
in its dubious wisdom,
led to yours;
& you may
puzzle out
this mystery in your turn.
Choose mind, choose body,
choose to wed the two;
many have tried
but few have done the deed.
Through you, perhaps,
I may at last succeed.
There are some lines of the poem that are really good, but not enough of them of them, to really save it. Pity!
The flesh is for the earth! ! So, let us gain life with the spirit! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
How can this be anything but full marks? Brilliance coupled with uniqueness permeates every verse with a complexity of vanity’s and question, yet hidden carefully, the verses are tainted with hope, what a masterpiece of poetry! ! ! ! So rare on this site! ! Ful
There's a negative perspective about human being in this song except the last lines. Also, some compounds in it are appealing like gourmet of mind and rasp of pain.
'Choose mind, choose body, choose to wed the two; many have tried but few have done the deed. Through you, perhaps, I may at last succeed.' - Loved these concluding lines of the poem, as also the unique title of it.
I am surprised not to see any comment on this beautiful poem, published eight and a half years ago. 'all of life, considered from the body's point of view, is a downhill slide & all our small preservatives & griefs cannot reverse the trend.' - Loved this deep thought. Congratulations on the poem's selection as the 'Modern Poem of the Day'!
yet my body, in its dubious wisdom, led to yours; & you may puzzle out this mystery in your turn. ......Through you, perhaps, I may at last succeed. //// interesting and penned thru philosophical way; good though awakening to read
All sensualists turn puritan at the end- turning up 's soil & finding bones beneath the rich volcanic dirt. very poetic and full of moral thoughts. tony
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Great poem. Anti matter exists because there is never a vacuum. If there is matter anti matter is there to counter the anti matter. Interestingly the anti matter will need anti squared matter to counter balance. All leading to the god particle.