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Wednesday 8 September 2010

Ever

Nothing succeeds for ever
there must come an end
and the end must be a success
and for ever
for beyond the success of the end
or its failure
lies - in both senses
lies - the unthinkable
a tear in the fabric
where a new theory of gravity
may be played on a violin.

It is a failure of the universe
to become universal
a giant who stands in the way
an ogre
from whom there is no escape
for the mind.

It swallows the mind
all passions
successes and failures
and spits them out as they ever were
and for ever.

If ever so much as a mouse
should escape the colossus
the grand implausibility
and scuttle on by it
all logic and art
religion and science
all fear and distress
and all earthly balms
even heaven itself
would collapse
and for ever.

My hope
and yours the hope
of mankind
is pinned to that mouse
if only because
it has not read the script.




Normal service should resume tomorrow

9 comments:

Elisabeth said...

Powerful poem here, Dave. Humbling in its intensity.

Tabor said...

Interesting. I thought of the chaos theory when reading this.

Unknown said...

Hi Dave,

I've enjoyed catching up; your Barcelona painting, the humorous haiku (endearments and moles particularly), the PI widow and today's thought provoking poem. Hope your computer woes are ended.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful.

CiCi said...

There is some heavy stuff in this poem. Very good writing. Once in awhile a mouse like us does get past it all.

Raj said...

and the end must be a success...
what a line!

Titus said...

wow Dave, I did have to read quite a few times to get to the sense, but I enjoyed the perseverence and it was worth it for that final stanza.

Anonymous said...

From Therese B. -- I love playing a new theory of gravity on the violin! It reminds me of Science's string theory -- how the universe is made of vibrating strings (like music on a violin!).

Dave King said...

Elisabeth
Wow, thanks for that.

Tabor
It's uncanny the way that you do that: I thought of it when writing it - it definitely influenced the ending, I think.

Derrick
Thanks a lot for that. Not ended, I fear, but manageable - for the time being. I now am in catching up mode.

babypickel
Hi and very welcome to the blog. Thanks for dropping by and for commenting. It is much appreciated.

TechnoBabe
Absolutely - to your last sentence, of course! But a big thanks for the first two.

Raj
Ever the optimist me! Thanks for the comment, though.

Titus
And a big thanks for that comment, too.

Anonymous
I like the comparison. I think it very apt. It was not what I had in m ind, b ut I almost wish it had been.