Bobbie Troy’s most recent poem here was Over the Top. Her poem today raises a few questions: is creativity compatible with those faiths that espouse raising consciousness above need and desire, eg, can a writer truly practice Zen Buddhism? Does the creative urge place attainment of the higher state described here out of reach?
The Brahman of Poetry*
By Bobbie Troy
the more you approach
subtlety
the more you approach
purity and simplicity,
revealing essence
the more you realize
that all your poetry
is Brahman
and no longer
has to be written
*Author’s note: In the Hindu religion, Brahman is the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe (according to Wikipedia). If you have attained that state, stop writing poetry immediately!
Beautiful sentiment, but your words must always be written for us.
I find Buddhism concepts interesting and enjoy Buddhist author, Pema Chodron’s books. So I ‘get’ the poem and love the humor and intelligence of the poet! So glad the author of this poem hasn’t attained the state of Brahman! We’d have missed a fantastic poem!!!
Not a big fan of Buddhism, I see that you have very much captured the “essence” of it. I accept that we can write about many topics (e.g. murder, political wrongdoings, celery) even if we don’t like them very much. My apologies to celery lovers.
I do not pretend to understand Brahman, nor do I understand Zen Buddhism, but I think that words must be written for the benefit of those like me for exactly those reasons.
Thank you, everyone. The word essence is the heart of the matter — our raison d’etre as writers is to capture the essence of something (emotions, motives, personalities, life’s mysteries, nature, etc.) by using a pure and simple approach. I believe that I, like many of you, will never put down my pen because I will not attain that Brahman state. At least not in this lifetime!
I was amazed at the simplicity and beauty of this poem, Bobbie Troy. Many of the concepts confused my small mind because I thought of Brahman as a Hindu cocept rather than Zen Buddhist. The more I tried to educate myself on the matter the less I knew, and the more I wanted to know. Is that, sometimes, the mark of a great poem? Whether yes, or no, I thought this one was,and it made me THINK–no small feat! Thank you, Bobbie–those who took time to comment, as well!
Very interesting exploration. A conundrum indeed! Perhaps one can never be of this world and reach the highest state (one must eat and drink at a minumum). So, I conclude that someone can be close to an elevated state and still write excellent poetry (Bobbie, case in point here).
I have read many of your poems, and what I like the most, here and in the others, is the sense of simplicity, depth, and beauty in the moments of life. The joy life has to offer exists in its minor epiphanies. Your poetry captures these moments.
Thank you so much, Steven. I appreciate yours and all the wonderful comments.