02-11-2013, 03:00 AM
Worked on this whilst I cooked a meal for everyone! Happy family bickering going on in the background.
I'll post what I came up with so far. These are perhaps not standard crit comments..more just my rambling thought.
See what you make of what i've posted for now and I'll try and finish later...assuming nobody has told me to sit down and keep my daft ideas to myself in between!
The Schism of Word and Number -a great title that says everything, yet gives nothing away. (I’m none the wiser for where the poem will lead me but I’m fed the idea that there will be a separation of ways and or theology).
In the beginning was the word, - famous words. I’m immediately locked into a text and framework of what this is all about. Good solid opener. The word of God – Jesus. So I’m asking myself, Is this going to be about the word made flesh – the gospel account, or is this a reminder of the pre-incarnate word, present and active in creation?
and the word was not the number. – immediately I’m given an interesting idea to think about. There is already another entity at work in this account. The number, who was not part of the creative dynamic. (In the beginning). Liking the stark contrast, the bluntness of statement of the opening two lines emphasises the gulf of difference between the two factors. Oh but hang on, there is a small tell (is this intentional or just casual use of language?) that would suggest the number is in some way equal to the word. There is an ambiguity to the statement “the word was not the number” it is a theological mine field. To maintain the unquestionable sovereignty of the word, I am suspicious the sentence should read… the number was not the word. (Cripes...I’m getting a headache and I’ve only read two sentences!)
The tree was also not a tree really like this. Slots me in the story into Eden. (Adam or his activities should be lurking around here somewhere soon!) The forbidden fruit introduced as just a metaphor that the creative word has placed before his creation as a image rich picture to explain a higher purpose.
with fruit blossoming
in metaphor. This was the way ? was the way of the word …is the word dead?
of the word. It craved nuance. But again I feel I’ve been set a theological trip wire. Does (did – tense used) the word of highest creative order really crave as such or have a playful side that seeks to use subtle definitions of shade and form to communicate. Is God by definition (above and beyond human understanding) not the opposite of nuance? I’m getting confused. The close of this stanza leads my thoughts to consider the possibility that what is under consideration is not just the surface images as presented. So again the ambiguity of the statements hangs in the air in my mind. Am I still just considering the process of creation or does the title of Word denote a lower form of creativity. (A poet, a theologian
)
The sun was light, and chariot, and unfolding flower, Beautiful lines here. Lots to be drawn from this but perhaps everyone is getting tired of the verbiage.
a spark blown from the lips of God. Lovely image.
The distant moon, a veiled woman dancing. Is the moon distant as in geography or characteristics? Is this then meant to be a comment about the relationship between Adam and Eve (man & wife)…more thinking out loud than making a crit. Image of sun and moon in relationship, dancing a courtship that keep each other at arms length (she is veiled), is the image I settled on, then taken to mean a foretaste image of the post Eden penalties of sin – our separation from God.
from her husband. Did you mean from here? Or for.
The animals would speak their names Loved the idea of the rejoicing of the naming and each name being a sound in itself which has a characteristic.
to rejoice in each syllable
Giraffe was like the brook's happy gurgle.
Snake was as shadows at dusk. The stage is set. Adam and Eve are dancing in the light of their God with the full beauty and wonder of the creative power of the word surrounding them. But there are shadows at dusk and within this a entity defined as number also lurks.
Sin had not been defined.
The world was without census. Number has yet to be defined.…and so to the close of part one of the creative process. Nicely done. Nice touch the use of census here to denote the work of the number (Darkness / evil) – re the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus.
Or in the beginning was the null set. Clever, reuse of text – the null hypothesis. The process by which a statement is capable of being proven false. The number (evil) makes a takeover bid to claim creation.
Creation an equation
solved in 518,400 seconds = 6 days. In six days the world and all that we know was created.
consisting of 332 perfect variables. ? too clever for me! I’m thinking it must be a reference to either the mathematics involved in the standard unit of time as being a second as opposed to the more relaxed expression of a day. The only other thing I came up with is that it is connected with the number of essential elements in the universe from which life is built or equally the human gene sequence = (43 genes -containing 332 internal coding exons)
There was one then two,
addition became multiplication,
until the day of the first subtraction;
when an asset was marked
as a liability in the Holy Ledger.
Sin was a tally beyond counting
The number can neither love
nor hate the word.
The word cannot abide the number.
They are parallel lines,
of orthodoxy and heresy
stretching beyond the call
of the final trumpet.
World without end.
Q.E.D.
Sorry Todd ran out of time - ready to serve up dinner. Will try and come back to this. Really enjoying the read and the challenge. I know I'm sad and I need to get out more.
I'll post what I came up with so far. These are perhaps not standard crit comments..more just my rambling thought.
See what you make of what i've posted for now and I'll try and finish later...assuming nobody has told me to sit down and keep my daft ideas to myself in between!
The Schism of Word and Number -a great title that says everything, yet gives nothing away. (I’m none the wiser for where the poem will lead me but I’m fed the idea that there will be a separation of ways and or theology).
In the beginning was the word, - famous words. I’m immediately locked into a text and framework of what this is all about. Good solid opener. The word of God – Jesus. So I’m asking myself, Is this going to be about the word made flesh – the gospel account, or is this a reminder of the pre-incarnate word, present and active in creation?
and the word was not the number. – immediately I’m given an interesting idea to think about. There is already another entity at work in this account. The number, who was not part of the creative dynamic. (In the beginning). Liking the stark contrast, the bluntness of statement of the opening two lines emphasises the gulf of difference between the two factors. Oh but hang on, there is a small tell (is this intentional or just casual use of language?) that would suggest the number is in some way equal to the word. There is an ambiguity to the statement “the word was not the number” it is a theological mine field. To maintain the unquestionable sovereignty of the word, I am suspicious the sentence should read… the number was not the word. (Cripes...I’m getting a headache and I’ve only read two sentences!)
The tree was also not a tree really like this. Slots me in the story into Eden. (Adam or his activities should be lurking around here somewhere soon!) The forbidden fruit introduced as just a metaphor that the creative word has placed before his creation as a image rich picture to explain a higher purpose.
with fruit blossoming
in metaphor. This was the way ? was the way of the word …is the word dead?
of the word. It craved nuance. But again I feel I’ve been set a theological trip wire. Does (did – tense used) the word of highest creative order really crave as such or have a playful side that seeks to use subtle definitions of shade and form to communicate. Is God by definition (above and beyond human understanding) not the opposite of nuance? I’m getting confused. The close of this stanza leads my thoughts to consider the possibility that what is under consideration is not just the surface images as presented. So again the ambiguity of the statements hangs in the air in my mind. Am I still just considering the process of creation or does the title of Word denote a lower form of creativity. (A poet, a theologian
)The sun was light, and chariot, and unfolding flower, Beautiful lines here. Lots to be drawn from this but perhaps everyone is getting tired of the verbiage.
a spark blown from the lips of God. Lovely image.
The distant moon, a veiled woman dancing. Is the moon distant as in geography or characteristics? Is this then meant to be a comment about the relationship between Adam and Eve (man & wife)…more thinking out loud than making a crit. Image of sun and moon in relationship, dancing a courtship that keep each other at arms length (she is veiled), is the image I settled on, then taken to mean a foretaste image of the post Eden penalties of sin – our separation from God.
from her husband. Did you mean from here? Or for.
The animals would speak their names Loved the idea of the rejoicing of the naming and each name being a sound in itself which has a characteristic.
to rejoice in each syllable
Giraffe was like the brook's happy gurgle.
Snake was as shadows at dusk. The stage is set. Adam and Eve are dancing in the light of their God with the full beauty and wonder of the creative power of the word surrounding them. But there are shadows at dusk and within this a entity defined as number also lurks.
Sin had not been defined.
The world was without census. Number has yet to be defined.…and so to the close of part one of the creative process. Nicely done. Nice touch the use of census here to denote the work of the number (Darkness / evil) – re the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus.
Or in the beginning was the null set. Clever, reuse of text – the null hypothesis. The process by which a statement is capable of being proven false. The number (evil) makes a takeover bid to claim creation.
Creation an equation
solved in 518,400 seconds = 6 days. In six days the world and all that we know was created.
consisting of 332 perfect variables. ? too clever for me! I’m thinking it must be a reference to either the mathematics involved in the standard unit of time as being a second as opposed to the more relaxed expression of a day. The only other thing I came up with is that it is connected with the number of essential elements in the universe from which life is built or equally the human gene sequence = (43 genes -containing 332 internal coding exons)
There was one then two,
addition became multiplication,
until the day of the first subtraction;
when an asset was marked
as a liability in the Holy Ledger.
Sin was a tally beyond counting
The number can neither love
nor hate the word.
The word cannot abide the number.
They are parallel lines,
of orthodoxy and heresy
stretching beyond the call
of the final trumpet.
World without end.
Q.E.D.
Sorry Todd ran out of time - ready to serve up dinner. Will try and come back to this. Really enjoying the read and the challenge. I know I'm sad and I need to get out more.