Summary

The poem "Wind-Ladder" by R Tsambounieri Talarantas is a metaphorical exploration of the author's arduous mental and emotional journey to reach a lost loved one, marked by pain, guilt, and the struggle to preserve memories through written words.

Abstract

In the poem "Wind-Ladder," the author expresses the grueling and punishing ascent of their thoughts, akin to climbing a ladder against relentless winds. This journey is driven by the desire to connect with someone who has passed away, a journey filled with emotional obstacles such as the guilt of survival and the pain of being forgotten. The author's heart, metaphorically worn by the departed, is aching and incomplete, leading to a self-imposed exile within the confines of their own written reflections. The poem conveys a deep sense of longing and a spiritual quest for reunion, hindered by the necessity to compose a final, reuniting eulogy before the journey can be completed.

Opinions

The author views their emotional journey as a physical climb up a wind-ladder, symbolizing the challenges faced in processing grief and maintaining a connection with the deceased.
There is a sense of self-blame and unworthiness in the author's continued existence without the loved one, suggesting a struggle with their own identity and purpose after loss.
The poem reflects a belief in a spiritual reunion, with the author needing to be spiritually prepared, adorned with the 'litany of the saints,' to cross over and meet the departed again.
The act of writing is portrayed as both a penance and a sanctuary for the author, serving as a means to preserve the memory of the loved one and to process their own grief.
The author seems to feel that their loved one's promise of reunion has been kept, while they themselves are still bound by their commitment to honor the memory of the deceased through their words.

Wind-Ladder

I climb the wind-ladder of my mentation

gruelingly in its punishing — illustrious persecution

I climb to reach you, abruptly bought to a hindering stop,

the broken pieces of my souls gimping heart — a missing step,

and the words I carry with me, burdened with the guilt,

that I still fraudulently exist, and you — you wore my heart around your

departing caress and forgot of me — to wander aimlessly within the tides of

my tears, shed by the eyes of the soul I ripped asunder upon your muted gravestone

I wear you as a well preserved, aging garment, moth ridden with memories, that have eaten

away at my bartering will to still wander within the confined purlieu of my

written words of you, self flagellating lashes that moor me to the piety of

this wasteland I am without your anamnesis

I climb the ardorous wind-ladder of my mentation, my soul out of breath,

ripped away by the rivers of the circling phantom sub-winds —

the pain devious in its unmerciful verdict, I cannot crossover until I am

dressed in the litany of the saints,

wearing vengeance as my departing liturgy —

there we shall meet again in the dignity of exile, I with a rendered token

and you with the outlawed breath you stole from me —

your word kept, my word honoured

I climb the wind-ladder of my mentation to reach you, “Wait for me”,

it is not my time yet, I have still not composed our reuniting eulogy.