Selfless self-fled self
original sonnet, reading & analysis
Intro
This is a sonnet written in the Shakespearean convention (three quatrains with alternating rhymes followed by a final couplet.) I didn't follow iambic pentameter strictly but used it as a jumping off point. The topic is the relation between the lesser self of the personality, and the greater macrocosmic "Self" of the universe. Since this type of writing is difficult for many people, I will explain it in plain words, line by line, at the end of this post, if you are interested. It is a lot more complicated to explain than it is to just read the poem as it is, but maybe it will help! First, try to just read it (and/or listen to my reading of it) and just let the rhythms and tones sink in. Don't think so much! Poetry is flow, it is meditation. Listen to the reading on
@dsound at the link below: ► Listen on DSound
► Listen from source (IPFS)
I find it tough to keep up with my self
For self in advance of self, a plaything leads.
As futile as to sneak up on a sylph:
Dense to subtle self all-ways concedes.
And I to it? God knows the curriculum
It fabricates in seeming jest is grave.
A mistress whose instructions my mind strum
And misconceptions mine most fully lave.
And it to I? God knows the myth persists
That self from self divided, space remains
O'er gap, smooth purchase, gap again encysts
And self imprisoned so, itself unchains.
The liberty of self from self escaped
Is the destiny of wholeness, selfless shaped.
Line by line breakdown
.The original lines will be in bold, and the explanations will be below them in italics/parentheses.
.
Quatrain I
.
I find it tough to keep up with my self
(It is difficult to remain aware of my true essence)
.
For self in advance of self, a plaything leads.
(I am like a toy for the universe)
.
As futile as to sneak up on a sylph:
(It is as pointless to try to catch up to the universal self as it is to try to sneak up on a slyph [elemental spirit of the air])
.
Dense to subtle self all-ways concedes.
(The physical self always loses in a struggle against the metaphysical self.)
.
Quatrain II
.
And I to it? God knows the curriculum
(What am I to the Greater self? The things it teaches...)
.
It fabricates in seeming jest is grave.
(Though the things life teaches seem silly or absurd, they are a matter of life or death.)
.
A mistress whose instructions my mind strum
(Portraying the universe as a melodious maiden that plays my mind like an instrument.)
.
And misconceptions mine most fully lave.
(Her musical lessons also wash away all my ignorance. [lave=wash])
.
Quatrain III
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And it to I? God knows the myth persists
(What am I to the universe? The false belief still remains...)
.
That self from self divided, space remains
(The false belief that there is anything separate from anything else causes the impression of empty space in reality to our perception.)
.
O'er gap, smooth purchase, gap again encysts
(We overcome ignorance to find something solid [smooth purchase] only to be captured by another gap in our knowledge [encysted = enclosed])
.
And self imprisoned so, itself unchains.
(The self that has become trapped eventually finds its way out and continues the cycle.)
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Final couplet
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The liberty of self from self escaped
(The freedom that is discovered when the lesser self lets itself dissolve into the universal self...)
.
Is the destiny of wholeness, selfless shaped.
(...Is the destiny for the whole of reality, which was shaped by an "entity" not even possessing a "self.")
Written by
@d-pend
1/16/18
Illustrationsare free domain.