Echo
A poem written as an experiment
The rhythm of a soulless night Follows along a path of greatness The glory you’ll succumb to If all else fails
Don’t wish for love or pain This path will lead you nowhere Just follow along the dirt road And figure it out yourself
The burden of a heated cry Your shadow flies along The only way it knows how To survive and be loved
Maybe another day will come And you’ll arise victorious Just a few steps away from the credence Of the life you lied about
Carry on now in your need For warmth and costly comfort Seeking a new path And lock away your incandescent flames
Context
Does this poem make any sense to you? If not, don’t worry about it. I wrote it as an experiment.
I closed my eyes, cleared my mind, and let my hand write whatever on a piece of paper. Sort of like a free association exercise, but without talking.
The intention was there from the beginning that I would like to write a poem*, but without specifying anything else about it. It was fun to write something that way. I mostly enjoyed that I was writing without thinking about what I wrote or what I’ll write next. Keeping my eyes closed allowed the words to just flow.
[*If I hadn’t set that intention, then my “experiment” wouldn’t be any different from the kind of free association I do in my analysis or what I write (e.g. in my journal) after meditation]
I can’t say if the poem is good or not. I recognize that it contains some reflections of things I’ve been thinking about lately. There are several parts of symbolism in there that have a special meaning for me. Probably it’s like a coded message from my unconscious to my conscious self.
You might say now “well, B, if it’s something so personal, why bother posting it?”.
The truth is that I wonder if it makes sense to anyone else.
When we write and share a consciously-written story, it’s easy for others to find things they can relate to. The same goes with consciously-written poetry. In both cases we’re still drawing influence from our memories and unconscious desires, but we write about them in a conscious way. Perhaps an exception would be those authors or poets who use imagery without knowing that their unconscious is expressing itself in that moment.
I wonder if the unfiltered message of my unconscious can connect to somebody else’s and create an unfiltered response.
If yes, what would that response look like?
What would you create if you quiet all your thoughts and just allow your hand to write (or type) whatever?