(a sonnet with two endings)
The Greatest Paradox is leaving Light
to learn what it is in Our Tradition.
Yet I beg you, Wild
Child, to practice names
and rituals—to let
me tame-train you—
to row you to
the mouth of the river
farthest downstream from unfettered childhood.
Chew our
language, jump through our hoops, take our
tests designed
to calibrate correctness,
say the right
name and gender of God and
recite its
history and name its parts
Voila! You are one of us. We believe.
We saved you;
God loves you; all is happy.
And then, Wild
Child, you too can bind people
to tradition and
live on ocean’s shore.
And then, Wild
Child, you can return upstream
to the source—having learned to value Light.Copyright © 2014 S.L.Chast
Beautiful, scary, sad.
ReplyDeleteisn't it sad when we lose that wildness only to get stuck in rituals and traditions - and worse - force them on others as well...ugh...
ReplyDeleteOkay, I definitely prefer the second ending!! Love the Wild Child.....interesting that this poem starts off with us leaving Light, to return to it at the end, full circle. Intriguing poem, Susan.
ReplyDeletewithin our selves we all have an inner wild child who just wants to roam like a wanderer!!
ReplyDeleteAll of us, I think, must learn to value both rituals and light
ReplyDeleteWisdom!
DeleteI believe we need rituals but rituals only have values when they are meaningful. As I see it, their role is not to enslave and bind people but help them find the divine.
ReplyDeleteThis has me a bit torn between ritual and feeling the light...you can go through the motions but, they mean nothing if you are not feeling them in your heart..just my opinion..a poem that makes me pause..
ReplyDeletei cannot avoid the rituals of life imposed, imparted upon us as humans but i hope like... a flower sleeping at the end of its season, it leaves a little room to start again (caption from one of my poems).
ReplyDeletewe must all look into the light and hope that we can assimilate into it and then share a little light with those we've touched.
gracias
I think only by keeping the wildness at heart we can travel and meet the blessings of light.
ReplyDeletehmm.. this was a great read!
ReplyDeletesad, very sad if the Wild Child is fettered with rituals and has to leave Light...but then all traditions are not about shackles and chains...whatever path one takes Light has to be there...thought provoking Susan...great lines..
ReplyDeleteIt's essential to retain an element of that natural wildness. It gives depth and meaning to Rituals and to the shadows cast by Light. This is a complex poem that has me reading it a couple of times. I know I'll be back. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteSteve K.
To leave the light and know it and follow it again is the decision ~ If the wild child accepts it and nurtures it and shares it with others too, then good for the community ~ Much to think about this one Susan ~
ReplyDeleteThis was so neat, Susan. The Wild Child conforming to society...and how sad that makes me feel even imagining such a thing.
ReplyDeleteI smile reading this in peace. Perhaps, because of age :-)
ReplyDeleteZQ
Hmm Susan you weave an intricate tapestry of words with light and ritual your main colors and the wild child the weaver. In the end the tapestry has a singular design made by you!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, 2 tendencies - separation and union in traditions and language, but light allows the knowing of it. ~ Nice.
ReplyDeletei thought this was an amazing analysis. growth compared to nature.
ReplyDeletestacy lynn mar
http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/2014/10/saturday-prompt-2-starry-skies-and.html
this is our nationalist expansion plan...we did it to the first nation...we did it in the islands we took...imperialism...that is the name i was looking for..we move in...americanize them...steal
ReplyDeletetheir land...take their culture...
Yes, this poem can be seen as a metaphor for colonialism. What we want for ourselves is a clue about what equality could be. I didn't realize this until the third revision.
DeleteIt needs a third ending.
DeleteCorrectness; how apt at times yet at others inappropriate. There is so much sadness with rules and yet so much hate in fighting them.
ReplyDeleteWell I def like the second ending best. It's good to learn from traditions and rituals, but those must be left to return to the source - and then the journey is inward, upstream, swimming alone.
ReplyDeleteLovely write Susan.
enjoyed the experiments and the quest for a life anchored in traditional wisdom
ReplyDeleteIt is such an interesting sort of cycle. I do think there is some merit in taming--maybe discipline and application are better words--but not so much when it comes to self-valuing. A very poignant poem. k.
ReplyDeleteFeels quite a bit like social commentary. Well written.
ReplyDelete