How Does The Tao See?
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
I see through
the prism of my imagination.
And I wonder:
Is that how everyone sees?
Is there a Way,
another Way of seeing?
How does the Tao see?
From what prism does the Tao view
the world?
Is Tao archetypal ?
The archetypal image of the universe,
the Eternal prism?
Is Tao a prism,
an Edenic heavenly prism,
Hosting humanity,
In which humanity is encased,
eyes closed…
waiting to be opened?
Is this once more
the prism of my imagination,
my fertile imagination ,
steadfastly at work,
it’s own prisoner
of invented Time and Space?
Am I, are we…
Are we all inevitably prisoners?
Or are we freedmen,
freedmen and freed women,
as dreamers
of our imagination?
Is the Eternal Tao
outside of Time and Space,
outside of — beyond…
beyond all invented borders,
beyond mind…
beyond my fertile imagination?
Is Eternal Tao
beyond your thoughts and mine?
Beyond all thoughts…
Beyond all human thoughts…
Beyond mind…
Beyond human imagination?
Someone once said:
“Cogito ergo sum.”
(I think…
Therefore, I must certainly be).
How true…
Or how untrue is that?
Is not Tao,
the Eternal Tao Te Ching,
unlike that?
Is not Tao instead,
a Being and Non-Being ,
beyond imagination?
Is Tao then,
a pre-existing , thinking being,
beaming, ever beaming,
a potential manifest energy,
un-manifested…
It’s kinetic state yet unreleased?
Am I still seeing
through the prism of my imagination
which I possess,
and which possesses me
with thoughts…
with fertile thoughts of my imagination?
Upon reflection,
upon inspection…introspection
of my existence…
Is Tao that which shows the Way,
my gateway…
to what I am searching for?
Can Tao as prism
be our looking glass of wonder
to give us clarity,
collectively and individually ,
to be…
what we, potentially can become?
About this poem
Existential philosophers, novelists, poets, writers, (as examples, Heidegger, Dostoyevsky, Tilllich, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Kafka, Camus, de Beauvoir, Fanon, Ortega y Gasset, Sartre, Miguel de Unamuno), all anti-establishment dreamers as a lot, have been perplexed about, and meditated on, the meaning or the meaninglessness of life. King Solomon, despite all his glory, in the book of Ecclesiastes (as Qoheleth, the Preacher), pondered at old age, during the last days of his life, on this very arcane subject. Socrates, celebrated for his wisdom, had need of consulting the oracle at Delphi in search of discovering a truth greater than that possessed by mortal beings, thereby questioning his own knowledge and wisdom, as well as those of others. This poem invites us all to look deep within ourselves, to meditate upon the hidden, to turn to the Tao Te Ching, “The Way” of existence and of all reality, to consult the ancient Chinese oracle, and ask: “How does the Tao see?” more »
Written on November 29, 2021
Submitted by karlcfolkes on November 29, 2021
Modified by karlcfolkes on September 21, 2022
- 1:46 min read
- 946 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | aBcxde faxxxg ggfxxx xBbxch fibbib jhxiKb jxllKb mgxfan jenmeb xeefxx ebxflb bbxddc gcfffg |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 1,788 |
| Words | 355 |
| Stanzas | 13 |
| Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"How Does The Tao See?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Jul 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/114810/how-does-the-tao-see?>.
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