We follow, we follow
Like horses without limits
Constrained by your power.
Dressed in garments,
Yellow to honour
We rest in the firmness
Of your will.
We look, we reach
The mountains of majesty
Challenging your power.
Blinded by the
Greatest brightness
We rest from the firmness
Of your will.
Give birth to
The ending of our cycle
Give birth to
The confines of our growth
Give birth to
The certainty
Of our death.
The sixth of eight poems inspired by the I-Ching.
This has a sense of energy and thrust. Wonderful.
Thank you for your comment, Chris. This one is supposed to represent receptive and devotion aspects – hope that came across!
I just heard a powerful journey!
That’ll do for me!!
I’ve loved every poem of this series, Chris, but I think this one is my favorite so far. Every word appears perfectly placed. It seems there’s an aspect of surrender to this poem, an abandonment of our typical struggles. Instead, the “we” of the poem rest and accept the inevitable. As always, your writing is powerful and succinct. Fantastic work here, Chris.
Your reading of this poem is bang on, Miranda. The meaning of the tri-gram associated with this poem is being receptive to and abandoning oneself (and one’s earthly desires) to a greater force – so, yes, there is an element of letting the inevitable take control. Working within such tight constraints was both interesting and challenging. On the one hand I needed to be true to the traditional meaning of the tri-grams, yet on the other this rigidity help to focus me on individual words and phrases, rather than seeing where the words led me.
I am genuinely thrilled that you have enjoyed this series, and your lovely comments have really touched me. Thank you for your time, Miranda – final two next week!
“The confines of our growth
Give birth to
The certainty
Of our death.” …..indeed.
Glad you approve. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment – I appreciate your time.
“give birth to / the certainty / of our death” – eloquently put. Deep truths, Chris.
Thanks very much, Vic. Passive or aggressive, receptive or assertive, the outcome will be the same for us all.
The one limitation that humanity can not overcome, although we are certainly doing our best.
“Give birth to
The certainty
Of our death.”
This reminds me of a line from the song “Patterns” by Simon and Garfunkel (one of my al time favorites):
“From the moment of my birth
To the instant of my death,
There are patterns I must follow
Just as I must breathe each breath.”
I actually don’t know that song, although some of their material has touched my life at various times. I think that the lyric you quoted resounds with the poem, which is about being receptive to a course which is beneficial to ones life (patterns, if you like), and then letting this course lead you.
Once again, many thanks for taking the time to read and comment upon these poems. Take care, Chris.