If The Flames Do Not Turn Your Bones Into Ash Poem by Clive Culverhouse
If The Flames Do Not Turn Your Bones Into Ash
If the flames
do not turn your bones into ash
your bones will rot
deep in the ground
but only for Them
for You'll come around
and as They're carving into stone
You may walk again
through countless fields
and endless roads
They will remember you
for only a blink
of the Universe's Eye
but the fields and roads
shall know You
for all Eternity
© 2017 Clive Culverhouse.
Added;
Inspired by:
The Eternal Return (Recurrence)Friedrich Nietzsche et al
KJBible Ecclesiastes 1: 9-10 That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
The Bhagavad Gita 2: 12 There has never been a time when you and I and the kings gathered here have not existed, nor will there be a time when we cease to exist (Krishna says)[Eknath Easwaran translation,2nd ed. Nilgiri Press,2007]
You may walk again! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
Wow! Good poem..it gave me goosebumps! I'll look for your books
For my reading of this poem I find that the author is assuming too much of the supporting scaffolding is understood by the reader. My first reading through it I didn't understand the intended metaphysics and missed the general sense of the poem entirely. For me the problem is compounded by confusion of what the pronouns them and they refer back to the poem. Is the remains (or cremains) ? The physical, mineral by-product of our bodies? I'm really not clear. And the shift from physical remains to spiritual and bodily reincarnation is simply assumed without any real hint to the reader that that is what's happening. This poem seems to me to be taking place more in the author's head than it is on the page, and the problem is that I only have access to what appears on the page, not what remains in the author's head. I had to go the author's bio page to pick up the background necessary to decipher the action of the poem. At least I could find the missing pieces somewhere and come back and read it again with a firmer base to make my exploration from.
Now you have piqued my interest in reading his bio page. As I first read thru this poem, trying to make sense of it, I thought of the THEM as the demiurge and his contingent of titan-like helpers who preside over the fallen creation. (These helpers are like the earlier generation of gods in Greek philosophy who remain latent in the natural world after the Olympians take over.) In Gnostic philosophy, there is a natural order, but it is a cage because it is cobbled together by second-rate deities, and our desires bind us inside that cage. The soul of a man must win free through direct gnosis of a higher reality. I agree that the THEM is disorienting, but the poet has an interesting way of portraying gnosis, for he sees it as the wandering journey of an unbound soul. His journey hardly registers in the minds of the archons/titans, and vice versa. In this view gnosis is a process, still moving through natural creation and looking for luminous clues, rather than overleaping nature by plugging all at once into transcendent wisdom. The Gnostics were never very clear as to whether they were talking about spiritual regeneration on reincarnation.There is a book by Phil Dick that touches on these themes, but with a paranoiac twist. (VALIS)
A multi-million star poem but they only allow 5 stars so I give you the best they have
Part 2---You may walk again through countless fields and endless roads They will remember you for only a blink of the Universe's Eye but the fields and roads shall know You for all Eternity---Awesome awesome awesome
I favorited this awesome poem. If I had the power, I would make this Poem of the YEAR! ! ! This is top flight writing--worthy of being called LITERATURE and placed in an anthology of poetry for a college class.
Another comment from Write Out Loud I wrote on that poetry website " The poem ending is my attempt at a William Blake style of writing." the comment left was: " Blake will be happy as he reads this Clive, I really enjoyed reading this"
Here's another good comment from Write Out Lout poetry website: " Clive, I have read a good amount of your poetry recently and enjoyed many. This poem has a special attraction for me as I often contemplate our mortality, its consequences and significance. I look forward to reading more Thank you for this, "
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/29/2024 6:28:59 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Such an interesting poem... congrats for being chosen... perfect 10++++