and what does poetry do?
Apr 22 2008 | Views 225 |
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Tags: Tang Baihu Tang Yin what is poetry music seeing insight poetry
Tags: Tang Baihu Tang Yin what is poetry music seeing insight poetry
and what does poetry do?
text © Raj Arumugam, April 2008; painting by Tang Yin (Tang Baihu) (1470-1523)
1
I know, dear friend, what music does;
the sound of a flute or the lute gives
pleasure to the listener…
but poetry – what does poetry do?
but is that all music does?
That music gives pleasure…?
Why, what else does music do?
I don’t know; you’re the one who ventured that opinion:
that music gives pleasure
and then you asked:
What does poetry do?
So what does poetry do?
poetry? like music, it gives pleasure
and enjoyment
But it never gives me any pleasure;
I find it dull and difficult -
and poetry celebrates
And what does poetry celebrate?
it celebrates life: pain; joy; love; agony –
all that you know as life,
and all you don’t know about life, that too poetry celebrates
2
And that is what poetry does?
and beyond: it awakens; it provides insight;
it rises like the sun and flowers bloom in the mind
It never awakens anything in me
that’s because you’ve never derived
any pleasure from poetry;
if you are not alive enough,
you are not ready for poetry
But poetry is supposed to awaken me
perhaps poetry awakens you
and you keep falling asleep
and so, my dear friend,
patient poetry lets sleeping loafers lie…
see, friend, while everything else prescribes to you
and leads to argument and division -
poetry is seeing directly
and leads to argument and division -
poetry is seeing directly
and what does poetry do?
text © Raj Arumugam, April 2008; painting by Tang Yin (Tang Baihu) (1470-1523)
© Raj Arumugam., all rights reserved.
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