PoetryPix
depictions by the rule of thirds; descriptions mostly freestyle words
Say the word
” Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence” *
How we treasure the word that follows
one upon another – streaming sentences
and blowing conversational bubbles
until the babble boils over
the tower of tongues topples in confusion
humans can neither fly nor build their way to heaven
Even those who speak in tongues
predict that God and glossolalia are worlds apart
The ear was created ready bent for sound
waves that ebb and flow in a concave shell
the channel though is heaped with pandemonium
just as eyes toss and turn to a flickering fantasy
and all for fear that the word will resound
in the dead air of transmission
*Opening lines are from Eliot’s byzantine liturgy ‘Ash Wednesday‘.
Joining in with the Midweek Motif ‘Fear‘ and linking up with the Tuesday Platform
17 Comments on “Say the word”
My Garden Blog
Wishing strength of will to all of us who are following the Lenten path over the next 40 days
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I love the “channel is heaped with pandemonium”. That’s all too often true! Great read, well written!
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Thanks Bev – our ears are full of such wax!
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Great closing lines in this piece, Laura.
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Thank you Sherry – has a certain resonance as both terminal and open channeled 😉
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the tower of tongues topples in confusion.. like that!!!
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Taken from the Babel myth
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one people with one language is not even wanted by god, so birth Confusion, Separation and perhaps Fear…so nicely written…
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One could argue people only want God for selfish reasons but mostly we desire distraction from an underlying fear
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This is such an interesting subject. I like the way you have expressed your argument. The imagery is wonderful.
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thank you Kerry – a little abashed at using Eliot for prompt but somehow my own struggle with meditation came through –
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You have really presented an interesting perspective in this thought-provoking write.
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glad to hear that Mary – Lent is very thought provoking
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Your closing lines left me quite breathless!❤️
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had the desired effect – thank you Sanaa
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Ash Wednesday is my favourite Eliot! How lovely to meet that quote here. And your own words followed with a sort of inevitable logic, in striking language/images which indeed incite fear.
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Marvellous comment from a fellow Eliotphile though this is not a poem I’ve re-read as much as ‘the four quartets’ but admiring it more and more. Thank you Rosemary
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