A prejudicial heart—
Now there’s a place to start.
Can we part the heart from the self
So to place one or the other
On a shelf to be contemplated,
Examined, probed, and tested
Without self getting lost,
Without heart arrested?
And if we can do this,
Put such vital things on an altar
So to willfully admit
Where our faults are,
And assuming we can survive
Such a sacrifice,
Can we be altered?
Is recognition enough—
To be able to say,
“Yes this is how I think
And I think such thoughts
May damage”—
If the thought is the problem…
Can a thought’s conviction
Be weakened through more thought?
Can more be wrought
Than a self-aware heathen?
Will the bias change to match
The ideal?
Or will the value
Morph so that we feel less bad—
So that we might live with ourselves
And maybe some sisters, spouses, and brothers
Though we may lack love for all others?
Right on. Are prejudices separable from our inner most selves and is being aware of them enough to change, if we can...maybe. Can you explain to me the:
ReplyDeleteCan more be wrought
Than a self-aware heathen?
Like can more be worked out of a self aware heathen? or are you suggesting a Divine necessity or participation. What is the ideal that is developed or is that contingent upon the investigation of self and if being aware of that is enough...? Does that question make sense or is that the essence of your overall question? How do we end with only loving those close by?
Just some thoughts:)
That's the beauty of poetry, my friend; it is allowed to be and even sometimes benefited by being ambiguous. It allows the reader to find their own meaning, which may or may not be the meaning the author intended, which is okay. The ambiguity makes the examination all the more intriguing because it requires effort which in turn yields a feeling of genuine accomplishment if achievement results from that effort, whereas words handed easily over, as in common maxims like "practice what you preach" and "don't bite the hand that feeds you"-- while these words are useful pieces of advice, the simplicity and frequency with which they are used takes away from the strength of their meaning. Just how for some people saying, "I love you" comes to be a reflex rather than an emotional expression.
DeleteThat being said, I'll take a stab at a couple of your questions.
Can more be wrought
Than a self aware heathen?
This question comes about as a result of the lines above it which discuss an understanding of one's own thought processes and one's own prejudices. So essentially what it's asking is, if we can identify within ourselves attitudes that are negative and unfair-- if we can identify these, can we change them? Or because these attitudes are mixed in with our system of values, our moral core, will they be resistant to change? Will we simply recognize them but continue going on acting hateful, being ugly, and not ultimately care that we are being so?
The word ideal refers to ideals in general, or can be any specific ideal that comes to the reader's mind. Ideal as in, the truest rightest way of doing things. So the question in which this word is found is asking whether we can change to live up to and exemplify our own ideas of how the world should be.
The loving those only close by line comes after the line about morphing one's values away from the ideal. If one decides that the ideal is too difficult to live up to, they may start changing their views to match those of the people around them... simply because it is easier and less stressful to go along with the crowd than to oppose it. And because it is difficult to live life wholeheartedly when one's values and one's actions don't match up. So if we are able to recognize this discontinuity between value and action, it seems likely that we will try to change one to match the other. The question is, which one will we change? And which way will we go? Will we become more negative or more positive? Will we seek justice even if it's difficult or will we fall into hedonism because it's easy and feels good sometimes? If the result of such a change is closed-mindedness or tight-heartedness, how would you ever manage to love someone whose heart and mind are strange to you?