‘Beyond Meaning or The Resolution of Opposites’
– a d’Verse poetics prompt
Epigraph:
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
-Wallace Stevens, ‘The Snow Man’
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
Harkened through the snows of New Jersey, Heeded through the storms of Cleveland, Purest nothing, on nothing, absorbed me, Sheerest nothing, on nothing, I am Upon nothing, nothing I, one/dering About nothing, not touched much by snow, Where nothings, together, not nothing, Where something within ached to go, Nothing, listened, through blustery blizzards, Whispering, nothing, nothing, here I am Through cold nothing, I heard, I shivered, Something, mine, called [from] Jerusalem.
The prompt
The above poem is my take on d’Verse’s ‘Beyond Meaning or The Resolution of Opposites’ prompt.
The writing challenge: We were to focus on the theme of ‘paradox’ and select one of the following to build poems around, of which I selected #2:
1. Here are some lines from Paul Dunbar’s The Paradox: – select ONE and build your poem around it.
- I am thy fool in the morning, thou art my slave in the night.
- I am the mother of sorrows; I am the ender of grief;
- I am the bud and the blossom, I am the late-falling leaf
OR
2. Take the last lines of Wallace Stevens’ The Snow Man and write a poem that is imbued with the existential paradox implied there. [the meaning of which is the ridding of our usual human observation and viewing winter as a ‘man of snow’ not a snowman! (more HERE)]
- For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
The skeptic's kaddish 
Wow David, this is very beautiful… Really lovely. It’s spiritually touching. A wonderful paradox. Nothing has definitely became something 😊🌹
Thanks so much, Amirah – you are very kind.
Yours,
David
A beautiful response to the original poem. I actually enjoyed the repetition…sort of trancelike when reading. I found the final stanza very powerful.
Thank you very much, Lillian.
-David
It must have been nothing to write this one. 😆
This line grabbed me~
“Purest nothing, on nothing, absorbed me,”
Amazing to be grabbed by nothing.
Seriously, it reminded me that most of our material world is made up of space, of nothing.
I like the concepts you are weaving in this one.
Thank you, Michele – I really just took the original poem’s message (as I understood it) and flowed with it. 🧡
Yours,
David
A little late for the comments but I enjoyed reading this one. It has even more impact when read aloud – the repetition is delightful to the ear and the tongue!
💖
David —
The snow as the metaphor of nothing/not nothing, and you “one/dering/About nothing, not touched much by snow” yet “here I am,” hearing, responding, called “[from] Jerusalem.” Paradoxical, yes, but pointing to a reality that is at the heart of it all. The spiritual element is very alluring to me.
Pax,
Dora.
Thanks so much, Dora. I’m glad this poem appealed to you 💛
-David
Absolute zero. The fool, you know. (K)
👍
You have turned a lot of “nothing” into a lovely poem!
Thanks so much, JYP ❤
Maybe the special something needs the nothingness to be seen… we need those contrasts.
Very much so, Björn.