I feel like an outsider with no Eliot

I thought I could begin with some impressions about Annie's and Peter's chosen poems.


"Song of Childhood"

This one is tied to a theme near and dear to my heart, childhood, though my feelings about it have changed over time. I used to think of childhood somewhat romantically when really, if I'm honest with myself, I know it came with its own set of issues. However, there are parts of it that I forever want to hold on to, especially playing "with enthusiasm." There is a looking-forward-to-things aspect that I often had as a child but seem to be severely lacking as an adult. I'm much more likely to dwell on negative aspects of my life, and the what-ifs, rather than focus on the positive.

It's hard for me to detach this work from "Wings of Desire." I see the imagery when I read the poem.

It's interesting that I still ask all the same questions as Handke's child - about evil, existence, and so forth.

I like the repeating of "When the child was a child," as it makes me think that he refers to us all as still children, but perhaps in different ways.


"To Nobodaddy"

I like the ties between the obvious allusions to God but also that of one's father specifically. "Father of jealousy" - as in reference to the Bible, where there is the Lord, "...whose name is Jealous."

I also particularly like the last two lines, as it makes me think of the "mysterious" God. Mystery is hot, and is an easy way out to explain away one's behaviour. Mysterious ways can't be questioned. But also, the pointing out of "females" leads the reader to the idea of an actual man, spending time womanizing or somesuch.


"Song for Naomi"

This one also is dear to my heart given the two new additions to my life. A growing daughter, unaware of time, and who time does not stop for, but to whom he hopes is kind. There is a palpable feeling of affection here, one that I hope I can embody in my relationship with my own daughters.

I like the repetition of stanzas, like the chugging along of time.


Now I'm going to be lazy and group Eliot's poems together, while pointing out something I like in each.

There seems to be similar themes in all of them - a frustration with human beings, a pessimism. Yet the finger seems to point inward as well, especially in "The Hollow Men." People work and play, poets included, constantly trying to fill some void in their being by whittling time away. There is a persistent focus on the unimportant, the distractions in life. Eliot weaves in desperation, yet almost passively, about the state of everyone. There is an obvious connection to our own times, when it seems so many people are focused on satiating immediate desires and are completely unaware of it. Now the metaphor is perhaps the zombie.

I wonder if he thinks there was a time when things were different, yet I'm not so sure. I think it seems so because people have more free time in which to do nothing progressive. The same battle goes on and on - some strive for some kind of salvation, whether through works here on Earth or looking up above, while many seem to run blindfolded through their lives.

I do relate to "The Hollow Men" quite a bit with my own bouts of feeling stagnant and ineffective. "Life is very long" indeed - I hear the ticking of the clock, on and on. My mind often seems to be in the moments of "in between," waiting for... something.

In "Love Song," my favourite lines are:

Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.


This makes me think of Hamlet, who is referred to in the poem, and indecisiveness, which I also suffer greatly from. My time is spent waffling, weighing this and that, until the act of not making a decision becomes much worse than the perceived worst decision would ever be.

And:

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

That feels like a punch to the gut - a giving in, which I am also all too familiar with.

"Preludes," while dealing with similar themes, is obviously more focused on the descriptions of a "dingy," black hole of a city. Sometimes I relate. The surroundings can become too much and I feel swallowed up.

Anyway, I hope this was adequate. I just wanted to start contributing and get that ball rolling.