Someone Must Have Learned Something
Someone must have learned something somewhere.
The books he read meant that, at least.
It was like a long poem, with no stops.
It just told him to go on, to be himself, one person,
Hardly ever touching his own limits.
You can depend on your own experience
When you form judgments, he said,
But so often you’ll just be wrong, uncontrovertibly.
Every start another start.
It hardly carried forward what went before.
Prosaic. Ordinary without establishing any order of its own.
Yes, play with words, that is another dead end --
Meditative without being the least bit profound.
Merely self-critical in his second thoughts
Without bringing on what is to come next.
(2003)
"Every start another start.
It hardly carried forward what went before.
Prosaic. Ordinary without establishing any order of its own.
Yes, play with words, that is another dead end --
Meditative without being the least bit profound.
Merely self-critical in his second thoughts
Without bringing on what is to come next."
2003, yes, but still has meaning today.
my favorite is the line "Prosaic. Ordinary without establishing any order of its own."
the personal feeling is really tangible here, whether its for yourself or someone you know/knew.
-with love
Thanks. I was rummaging around some old stuff and that this ought not just be lost.
Peter
The fascinating thing about this poem, Peter is the title.
In my education classes back in graduate school one of our profs told us this: "Students will learn in your classrooms, whether or not you teach."
I found that that is always the case; much is absorbed by an individual's experience, whether that experience is active or passive. Whether that experience changes the person is entirely up to them.
Les
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2011 02:03PM by les712.
...Which, Les, is the converse of what the title and the poem itself mean- the title being ironic -- the poem making a point that we don't even learn when we think we are learning....'The books he read meant that, at least,' 'But so often you’ll just be wrong, uncontrovertibly,' 'that is another dead end,' and 'Without bringing on what is to come next.' -- all phrases in the poem indicting that the poet means that we do not learn from experience.
It may be irrelevant here, but the education classes I took in graduate school were the antithesis of learning for me, had almost nothing to do with learning to teach or learning how my students could learn.
Seems we learn all the time, even though we seem to learn the 'wrong' lessons far too often.
Pardon me if I sound a little cranky this morning, it is just that for a change your take on the poem was off the mark, which is very unusual for you.
amo et avanti,
Peter
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2011 10:08AM by petersz.
Peter my comments have nothing to do with the text of your poem, merely the title. I believe I understand what you're saying in the piece, but my comments pertain only to the title.
And it's ok for me to be completely wrong about this or any other interpretation. That to me is learning also. Thanks for giving me something to reflect upon, too much of what I read here and elsewhere has no substance whatsoever.
Les
btw, Les, I almost always find your commentary illuminating, except, perhaps, when you only say, "Good Read" without further elaboration. Even in this case I found your comment on the title illuminating.
cheers,
Peter