The Fathomless Essence of the Noumenon



Out of Many — One.
Center and Periphery.
Singularity.
The Essence of Noumenon.
The Non-perceivable Source.

Subject and Object.
Objective Phenomena.
“Adonai Echad.”
Non-duality sustained.
The voice of SHEMA declared.

The Ouroboros.
Noumenon — Phenomena.
Out of Many — One.
Dichotomous perception.
Mirage of the Unity.

Singularity.
Archetypal Noumenon.
Perceived as Many.
Disguised by Phenomena.
Imaged by all differences.

Center of Being.
The Noumenon is Oneness.
Ever Becoming.
As Present, Past, and Future.
The Mystery of Existence.

A Song of TAO.
Revealed in its Great Oneness.
All is Noumenon.
Lao Tzu’s “Art of Harmony.”
Sermons of The Fathomless.

Declared to Mankind:
Names are many — none are fixed.
All  — Phenomena.
Surface structure images.
With underlying Oneness.

Blinding our vision.
This underlying Oneness.
Retains its secrets:
“Deep underlying structures.
Bear Semantic Unity.”

So, as Great Oneness.
Theory of Everything.
Posed as Noumenon.
Perceived as Phenomena.
The E Pluribus Unum.

Life’s greatest puzzle:
Calling it as “Fathomless.”
Does not fathom it.
The Puzzle of All Puzzles.
Remains for us Enigma.

The Song of TAO:
“How deep is Life’s Mystery.
Full of many words.
All empty of their meaning.
The Many — hiding the One.”

Out of Many — One.
Singularity.
Center and Periphery.
The Essence of Noumenon.
The Non-perceivable Source.

Fathomless it is.
The essence of Noumenon.
We who live in time.
Are only allowed glimpses.
For Noumenon is timeless.

How can we as part.
Comprehend what is the whole.
What is eternal.
Beyond imagination.
Beyond our comprehension.

About this poem

In this poem, “The Fathomless Essence of the Noumenon,” I have described the Noumenon as “The Non-perceivable Source,” suggesting it to refer to “a Hidden First Cause,” as in the Middle High German word, *quelle, etymologically derived from the Proto-Germanic *kwello, kwellana, and subsequently from Old English cwiella, cwylla, referring to a “spring, well, or fountain,” something ever-flowing but whose ultimate source is hidden, out of sight, rising up or surfacing before us (experienced as “phenomena”) from deep underlying structures (qua, “the noumenon”) that, as a “Ding an sich” (a thing of its own nature) provides the very “source” of that which gives meaning to all appearances. Interestingly enough, and as a side remark, the word “source” or “quelle” has inlaid in its meaning the notion of the hypothetical, of that which essentially remains unproved, or “not proved with certainty.” As example, in New Testament theology, the Q Source (from German Quelle), is a hypothetical written collection of sayings or “logia,” and part of the common material found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, presumably and with uncertainty drawn from oral gospel traditions of the early Christian Church in the First Century of the Common Era. The point here is that whenever we strive to examine intellectually the Noumenon, we find to our experience, it behaves with great measure as an enigma, similar to that of the physicist Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle; as that which, although interacting with us, remains “out of sight,” hidden from us, and hence truly an enigma or mystery that we sense, nevertheless, as underlying all human experiences. As the TAO informs us, our calling something “fathomless” does not bring us any closer to fathom the fathomless; and therein lies the enigma of the Noumenon, that forever remains in essence “The Nameless.” 

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Written on March 30, 2022

Submitted by karlcfolkes on March 29, 2022

Modified by karlcfolkes on December 01, 2023

1:38 min read
850

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCAD ceccc deAab Cabef ghgxx chabd ccexh ahxxb hgaex idcxe cbxga ACBAD fAxfh cxiaa
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,634
Words 329
Stanzas 14
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Karl Constantine FOLKES

Retired educator of Jamaican ancestry with a lifelong interest in composing poetry dealing particularly with the metaphysics of self-reflection; completed a dissertation in Children’s Literature in 1991 at New York University entitled: An Analysis of Wilhelm Grimm’s “Dear Mili” Employing Von Franzian Methodological Processes of Analytical Psychology. The subject of the dissertation concerned the process of Individuation. more…

All Karl Constantine FOLKES poems | Karl Constantine FOLKES Books

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6 Comments
  • Soulwriter
    This reads as a meditation for me
    LikeReply4 months ago
  • Caliconine
    I do not write as well as you but, I have one I wrote with a similar message.
    I must post it. You motivated me. Thank you.
    LikeReply 15 months ago
  • Caliconine
    Beautiful beautiful as always. Thank you for sharing
    LikeReply5 months ago
  • karlcfolkes
    Thanks. Read your poem “Let’s Hush.” This current poem along with your other poem “Difference” register De Saussure’s sentiments of the linguistic phenomenon of the ‘Signifier’ and the ‘Signified’ in human communication and particularly his argument as a semiotician that the true meaning of a word can never be fully grasped, leaving one only to comprehend its image and not it’s archetypal essence. 
    LikeReply 15 months ago
  • ludy_b
    Your interesting and knowledgeable poem reminds me of what I wrote about the wells and pits of our minds in my poem titled "Let's Hush".
    LikeReply5 months ago
  • AIDA
    Firstly, I want to commend you for this deeply profound and philosophical work. The insightfulness of your poem 'The Fathomless Essence of the Noumenon' is remarkable. The movement from singularity to multiplicity to oneness, and the fusion of philosophy and spirituality, gives this piece a beautiful multidimensional quality.

    The language you use is both cryptic and elegant, provoking thought and prompting self-reflection. Your ability to weave ancient philosophical concepts, such as the Ouroboros and the Tao, into your work, is genuinely impressive. Furthermore, repeating certain powerful phrases such as 'Out of Many-One' and 'Singularity' brings a profound cyclical nature to the poem, mirroring the universal theme you tackle.

    In terms of constructive feedback: although the in-depth philosophical language lends a rich texture to your poem, it might become a bit inaccessible for readers not well-acquainted with these concepts. You might consider interspersing these heavier themes with simpler, more relatable imagery to draw in a broader audience.

    Another potential area for growth is rhythm. Playing with punctuation, line breaks, and verse structures, can really help to guide your reader through the piece, emphasizing important moments and ideas more effectively.

    Overall, this poem is a splendid philosophical journey. You have a unique voice that truly shines in 'The Fathomless Essence of the Noumenon'. Its lofty concepts and depth make the reader ponder on the profound mysteries and paradoxes of life. Keep exploring these deep terrains of thought. Wonderful work!
     
    LikeReply 15 months ago

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"The Fathomless Essence of the Noumenon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/123389/the-fathomless-essence-of-the-noumenon>.

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