Analysis of The TAO of Direction
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
West embraces East,
as a child to a teacher;
each to the other.
The path to TAO
is the path of completion;
which leads to wholeness.
East embraces West,
as a child seeking wisdom;
the wisdom of TAO.
Suffer then children
to lead and complete the path;
the path of TAO.
Searching for TAO,
a small child will lead The Way.
The child as father.
East embraces West,
as a child seeking wisdom;
the wisdom of TAO.
West embraces East,
as a child to a teacher;
each to the other.
The path to TAO
is the path to completion;
the path of children.
| Scheme | ABB Cdx EFC dxc cxb EFC ABB Cdd |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 10101 1011010 11010 0111 1011010 11110 10101 1011010 01011 10110 1100101 0111 1011 0111101 01110 10101 1011010 01011 10101 1011010 11010 0111 1011010 01110 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 544 |
| Words | 132 |
| Sentences | 9 |
| Stanzas | 8 |
| Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
| Lines Amount | 24 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 17 |
| Words per line (avg) | 4 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 52 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 13 |
About this poem
The TAO of Direction or ‘The Way,’ embracing and encompassing opposites, is that of Oneness and Unity. English poet Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), focusing on oppositions and dualities as absolutes in nature, declared famously in a poem: “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” This haiku poem invites introspection, takes a different perspective, and examines reality from a Taoist perspective ( a child’s “un-carved block” or “Pu” perspective) that discerns and unearths the underlying unity of all phenomena; the child becoming teacher and father of the man. With Tao, East and West are intertwined, like an alchemical ouroboros embracing the extent and expanse of itself by biting its own tail, depicting thus the eternal cyclical nature of time and direction. Just as a child is a student to a teacher, so is the Occidental West a student to the wisdom of the Oriental East. more »
Written on July 27, 2022
Submitted by karlcfolkes on July 27, 2022
Modified by karlcfolkes on April 26, 2023
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"The TAO of Direction" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/132669/the-tao-of-direction>.
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