An exceptionally esteemed friend had introduced me to the writings of David Whyte a long time ago. His page is one of the few platforms where I spend meaningful time when my Facebook activities at large are concerned. Recently, I have come across the article below among many other thought-provoking deliberations by this renowned poet, author and public speaker. And today, my obvious intent – with reason – is to share with you his reflections on the concept of “despair” and our conceptualizations of this phenomenon.
Tag Archives: despair
Elegy – 6
I had recently composed this poem in German. My translation method here is somewhat liberal. I hope you will enjoy my work with the words in their English transformation.
immediate
enforced
no final contact
warning failed
despaired devastation,
destroying humiliation
inevitable
self-respect, departed
massive grief, incapable of solace
too late to await
to expect at last
that what was evidenced
many years ago…
now
a mere I without a name
Filed under Poetry
NaPoWriMo Challenge: Day 18
Once again, I will meet a daily NaPoWriMo challenge, namely Day 18 by Cathy Evans – according to whom one is expected “to write a poem that begins and ends with the same word.” Before I venture into my poem, though, I want to take us all to Encyclopedia Britannica for a background information on in medias res,the literary technique of mention within the same prompt:
“( Latin: ‘in the midst of things’) in narrative technique, the recommended practice of beginning an epic or other fictional form by plunging into a crucial situation that is part of a related chain of events; the situation is an extension of previous events and will be developed in later action. The narrative then goes directly forward, and exposition of earlier events is supplied by flashbacks. The principle is based on the practice of Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad, for example, begins dramatically with the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon during the Trojan War. The Latin poet and critic Horace has pointed out the immediate interest created by this opening in contrast to beginning the story ab ovo (‘from the egg)—i.e., from the birth of Achilles.”
great despair
professional dead-end
labor-rich occupation
health concerns-laden living
gravely limited means
private life, non-existing
The alternative?
His sole question.
You loved not once
but twice
yet both have gone their ways
your stronghold – your mother
no longer
father, remarried
brother, wedded
but you…
I worry.
He, on a pedestal
same with my brother
they would know, I resolved
forced the heart’s un-yearning aside
stayed on, and on, and on
until it broke
the rope that held me back
went where I had left it off
inhaled
exhaled
exhaled again
again
and again
lived
euphoria
on the path
of the spirit
the authentic one
freed yet once again
from pre-natal melancholy
in a vane attempt
to pre-empt
the persistence of
great despair
Filed under Poetry, Reflections
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