High Definition

[alexanderscttb]

“. . .why can’t we be what we want to be?
We want to be free. . . [. . .] Three o’clock
roadblock / And hey, Mr. Cop! Ain’t got
no. . . birth certificate on me now.”
-Bob Marley-One can’t speak precisely

Comments

[roina_arwen]

This is lovely and thought provoking.

[alexanderscttb]

Thank you so much, I'm glad that you thought so!

[static_abyss]

I love this. You have such a knack for placing interesting observations in the confines of a poem. It's really cool.

[alexanderscttb]

I really appreciate that! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying it!

[rayaso]

This is a very philosophical and well-written poem, which I greatly enjoyed. I disagree with "One can’t speak precisely/of the way that things are besides/in a form of metaphor," Metaphors are things that something resembles. Language can be more precise than similarities. This was very thought-provoking, as usual.

[alexanderscttb]

I’m glad to get some disagreement! I hope you will not mind if I carry on with this dialogue. . .
. . . because language is indeed, a “form of metaphor.” I agree that we can speak very precisely about things with language, but again that is the paradox, because we are using a code of symbols to do this precise act of description.
When we speak of how things are, we are not literally recording the way that things are. And even if we use various devices to record the way that things are, still we are not actually making something that’s the way that things are, we’re merely taking down an impression of the way that things are.
This is not to say that it doesn’t make for a very precise account of things, but an account of things is not precisely the way that things are.
Hence a metaphor becomes a metaphor, for the way that we speak of the way that things are.

[rayaso]

More things to think about!

[alexanderscttb]

Thank you for drawing out these things, thinking is fun!

[bleodswean]

Loved this - But because something gets repeated doesn’t
necessarily mean that it’s correct,!!

There are many philosophers, scientists and physicists who would disagree with your presumption that hard things can only be understood in metaphor. But I understand what you're getting at with that premise.

[alexanderscttb]

I admit that my intent with that was more to provoke than assert, because I feel like the idea that only scientists can approach the truth, or that imagination is trivial compared to analysis, or that a physicist or journalist has more value than an artist or poet say, is unwarranted

[murielle]

Bravo!

So many lines and phrases jumped out at me shouting, "truth!" None more than this,

"...inventing newer and newer ways
of repeating the same old thing. "

C'est la vie!

Bravo!

[alexanderscttb]

Thank you kindly! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!