Daedalus In The Labyrinth Poem by Daniel Brick
Daedalus In The Labyrinth
The Labyrinth looks deep
into its mirrors.
It knows
seeing is the fundamental work
of everything that grows.
Its hunger for growth is wild
like jagged canyons slicing through the earth.
It devours soil, rocks, sunlight, fragrances.
It leaves nothing behind.
The Labyrinth's winding
confuses itself.
It loses sight of the precious thread,
whose color is a woman's face.
She cannot help.
She has already descended.
The abandoned walls are terrified.
They choke and twist
like dreamers struggling to awake.
And the floor leaps forward!
Why would someone do that? She does not tell us. I wanted this poem to be wild, irrational, claustrophobic. It cannot be paraphrased. I certainly cannot summarize or explain it. A lot of modern poetry can be similarly described, and yet every line contains images, the words are concrete, actions are precisely described. But the overall effect
is confusion, like a dream that makes no sense, discourse that is incoherent, a story that bewilders listeners. The poem as a whole becomes a symbol for experiences we live through but cannot comprehend. Why did that happen? What does that mean? Can't anyone explain this to me? I want answers - where are they? That's the meaning of this Labyrinth poem: a confrontation with incoherence.
p.s.: I have added ''Daedalus In The Labyrinth'' to MyPoemList.. another poem of yours to go there..
''a confrontation with incoherence.'' ''Ariadne is changed into a mysterious character who choses to enter the Labyrinth - voluntarily. Why would someone do that? She does not tell us. I wanted this poem to be wild, irrational, claustrophobic. It cannot be paraphrased.'' When reading your note, I couldn't have been more surprised.. because I had taken the 'Labyrinth' as a metaphor of 'Life' itself.. So I was wrong.. but was I wrong really..? Daniel, I know that many readers, at PH, would prefer your 'plain' poems, not poems like this one: those first ones are beautifully shaped ('crafted', I'd say, like the finest of Louis XVI style furniture) and give the readers the exact picture of what was on your mind when writing them. ''Daedalus In The Labyrinth'', on the contrary, asks for ''a confrontation with incoherence''... and it is difficult to accept.. even 'unbearable' for not so few of them.. BUT it is Pure Poetry.. and this is the simple reason why I enjoyed so much reading your 'visionary' poem.. Another strange thing is that you are sort of 'puzzled' by such figment of your poetic imagination.. Your words: ''the overall effect is confusion, like a dream that makes no sense, discourse that is incoherent, a story that bewilders listeners'', sound like you're not at ease with it... Like you're not sure about its ''paternity''.. or as if you'd consider this poem of yours as a degenerate son.. For one who loves Jorge Luis Borges (one of my preferred Authors!) , it is a bit awkward, don't you think so? ;) Your 'Teacher-Mind' is here -I see- at odds with your 'Poet-Mind'.. I greatly respect the first, but hope the second will be the winner.. ;)
I found this to be your best poem yet. seeing is the fundamental work is an extensive philosophy wrapped up in a pithy sentence begging of more explanation but deserving of none. like jagged canyons slicing through the earth. was a bold, masterful trope, which represents the opposite of growth to show its viscousness. Leaving nothing behind, because of its sight, or its consumption, either way it is one of subjugation. walls are terrified, gives us some stability. Yet the floor leaps forward, tersely describes the dreaming, the confusion, the labyrinth itself. The labyrinth becomes a symbol of all the things in life which are so difficult to navigate. One loses the thread which leads you through, perhaps not to the end, but it provides some hope and momentum.
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4/22/2024 9:49:14 AM # 1.0.0.1119
On the theory you base the poem, it functions accordingly.Incoherent, mysterious, frightening, like a bad dream.Life today frightens less?