Babal

[Achebe]

Babal

for Kim

1. Mother Earth

-- Babalon stole her architects ..........is this just word play? I don't think 'the mystical system of Thelema' as per Wikipedia adds a meaningful extra layer of meaning eg. Zeus / Dr Seuss is - a bit farcical
from Egypt, her engineers from Greece, her doctors
and priests from Israel: that is why our tongues
are tied with Şibboleths. Truly, meat .......the 'that is why' is the first of the poem's many profound-sounding statements that are actually sweet nonsense

is the sweetest sin, and Plato,...the meat / sweet leitmotif is one of the few things I like about the poem
Plotinus, Valentinus, lied to us. They promised us
angels for wives, mortal gods for husbands, yet all we got ...I don't recall Plato promising anything of the sort
were grave old men, anxious Jocastas.

2. Grave Old Men ...OK, so S1 is the setup for chapters to follow, nice...

-- my mother
and my father plagued me
as they raised me. Or rather blessed,
how the knowledge of old age

confused youth's understanding. Yet have I grown
enough to soothe these calluses born of school
with balm, that I should judge? to shave 
this hircine curse's shape

into a Spanish beard? ...this is when I say 'dafuck?' a second time.  Galleons sail
on pacific currents concretized
across Katipunan avenue
between my country and your Mexico.  ...the 'Spanish' leads to your rival university, and to Mexico. It's just loose thought association, isn't it?

3. Mexico ...I was expecting 'Jocastas' here, but thought association it is.

-- what a Şibboleth! Our old school's shattered stones
are now the home to snake-like trumpet vines, just as your English
is no longer the same as mine, and your Bible grows 
overshorn, incomplete. Truly, meat  ....this is a beautiful strophe ending on 'incomplete'. just splendid, with the 'shattered stones' working beautifully with the 'trumpet vines' and bringing to mind Aztec temples, Huitzilopochtli and the serpent, which somehow seems to work very well with 'overshorn' - I don't know why. I'm not sure what it means, though, because I thought both countries were Catholic and there was only one Catholic bible....

is the sweetest sin, so when Lucifer
confused his craving for love, he was cast down
to diabetic hell, his eye blinded,
his leg severed, yet by the doctor's hand ....now I don't know if you've switched back into autobiography or are just being clever

his consoling treats tied shut. Ozy and Millie
were far from old when they raised me,
Dana their "God-hated" maker no man ....as Todd said, without your footnote...but I'm not that keen on getting that much into the minutiae of your real life. This is too self indulgent
but child: Plato did speak truth

when he said woman is a child. And yet,
accursed flesh, am I a woman who here stands,
as she with the ruddy hair is man
and you with the mortal light is genderless? .....switching between too many voices, the ambiguity overwhelms at this point

4. Hermaphrodite

-- what a devilish love! It was no storm
but flesh-dissolving bile that broke
the Tower of Babel, that spread 
like pâté men across the earth.

"...Katipunan avenue" - A tale of two universities in Quezon City, with the state-sponsored University of the Philippines to the west, and the Jesuit-sponsored Ateneo de Manila University to the east. The road itself is a haven to capitalists, with expensive malls, expensive restaurants, and expensive dormitories lining each side. 
"...Ozy and Millie" - http://ozyandmillie.org/ One of my favorite comic strips. Its creator is Dana Claire Simpson, and she is a transgender female. It was through that work that I learned what transgender means, though not directly, as I remember it never dealt with the issue -- I just did my research, once I got engrossed.

Hi RN, it seems churlish to dislike something as lovely sounding as this, but the trick is probably to write something that is as lovely sounding as this that also makes sense   
And I actually like the Four Quartets.