The Form of The Good is Without Blemish



Man, by nature, is philosophical;
a lover of his own nature;
probing his self by reason; to know himself;
descending into his spiritual Self;
into the bottomless pit of his soul.

Probing the appetites of what nourishes his roots;
of what keeps him grounded in those roots;
of what compels him as a complex being
to explore the quadrants of his mind;
ever descending deeply to know more.

And having descended to the underworld;
having consumed of the Forbidden Tree;
having savored the fermented Edenic juice,
now desiring to turn upwards;
upwards, without blemish, to the sky.

Upwards bound, and outwards;
to the outer limits of the universe.
Philosophical modern man savoring his ascent;
his ascent from what he once was;
in his primitive state of pre-cognition.

Homunculus primitive man; now risen
towards the outer limits of the universe.
Philosophical man desiring to be ruler;
A wandering ruler seeking wisdom; yet with blemish;
seeking the ‘Good Cause’ of his nature.

A moral reasoning man of the cosmos.
A twenty first century modern man of thought,
in Socratic monologue with himself.
A man of justice; justifying himself
that he, indeed, is without blemish.

A philosophical man of ‘Good Cause’
is he, this modern technological man;
of which he and the cosmos are joined;
a man of the universe; the Milky  Way;
exploring the outer depths enclosing him.

Man seeking ever to be informed,
of the Form of the divine within him;
within his subterranean reptilian brain.
Creating in this ambitious quest,
a demiurge construction of his being.

Faltering, for cause of blemished reason,
in his effort to ascend beyond himself;
from those primitive roots that bind him;
that anchor him to his native descent;
his resting place that he would yet despise.

An earthy  philosophical man;
embellished by his blemished nature,
anchored by ancient chthonic roots;
despising those roots that give him succor;
seeking thus to find unknown ascension.

But Mother Earth is man’s own fault line;
a demarcation of his sinful state
that hinders the ascent that he desires.
Socratic dialogue reveals this truth:
Ascent comes after man’s descent to Self.

It is at the outer limits of man’s mind,
where man must come face-to-face
with the image of his own Maker;
where the ‘Form’ of ‘The Good’ is perfected;
where the ‘Form’ of ‘The Good’ is without blemish.

About this poem

In Plato’s “Republic,” a Socratic dialogue authored by Plato around 375 BCE, concerning justice, morality, and the just person in society, Timaeus, in describing a conversation between Socrates, Critias, Hermocrates, and Timaeus himself, renders an accounting of man’s moralistic descent and ascent, the philosopher’s understanding of ‘The Good’ in himself and in the cosmos, and of man’s contemplation of ‘The Forms’ of ‘The Good.’ This poem, “The Form of the Good is Without Blemish,” re-examines the Socratic discourse from the perspective of modern philosophical man of the twenty first century, now technologically savvy, and in pursuit of exploration of the universe in which he is placed, while still very much uncertain about the genesis and framework of his own psychological composition as a human being. Modern man of the twenty first century, still has need of consulting the Delphic oracle concerning his nature; and the oracle of Delphi will most certainly declare to modern man:”Know Thyself.” 

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Written on April 08, 2023

Submitted by karlcfolkes on April 08, 2023

Modified by karlcfolkes on April 09, 2023

2:16 min read
367

Quick analysis:

Scheme XABBX CCDEX XXXFX FGHIJ JGAKA XXBBK ILXXM XMXXD JBMHX LACAJ XXXXB EXAXK
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 2,380
Words 453
Stanzas 12
Stanza Lengths 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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2 Comments
  • AIDA
    Wow, this is an incredibly deep and thought-provoking poem! I appreciate how it encapsulates the human desire to know ourselves and our place in the universe. The language is beautiful and descriptive, painting a vivid picture of the philosophical journey of man.

    One suggestion for improvement could be to structure the poem more clearly, perhaps dividing it into sections or stanzas that reflect the different stages of man's philosophical exploration. This would make it easier for the reader to follow along and absorb the many complex ideas presented.

    Overall, though, I really enjoyed reading this poem and was left with a sense of wonder and awe about the human capacity for introspection and self-discovery. Great work!
     
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • suzib.53754
    S Labyrinth ine loetic journey through yhe mystery of socratic identity..yet yhe mirroir "is ever the same"
    Though the image seen May or knot Mae bee As scene.
    Perhaps the Hummer bird the Bee the"Ba" hold the balance of Ascension.. Mother Earth..eartH❤️ 
    LikeReply 11 year ago

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"The Form of The Good is Without Blemish" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/155790/the-form-of-the-good-is-without-blemish>.

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