Analysis of The Thought That Lingers: Part Three
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
To those who course the netherworld,
with Bardo trust and faithfulness,
a measured means of recompense,
must dutifully be prescribed
for this alembic journey of the liminal.
Alembic journey is that of invocation;
a summoning of the alembic journeyman;
that involves a daring inward quest
in search of higher state of mindfulness;
and exploration of the human psyche.
For bridging of the liminal spaces
between the conscious and the unconscious;
within the deepest realm of psyche;
The Bardo realm of the faithful,
in alembic journey of Transformation.
The golden realm of Bardo
is, itself, non-physical;
a liminal, intermediate stage
between two phases of our lives on earth:
the physical and metaphysical.
It covers various phases
of our lives in consciousness;
extending ever inwards;
pursued in dreams — even nightmares,
for goal of liberation.
Phenomena of Bardo,
to some, may seem quite terrifying;
may require soulful action
of that which is transcendental;
our external thoughts suspended.
Alembic cup provides distillation;
for that is required of the pilgrim’s mind.
An ouroboros of the mind transformed;
condensed; turned inwards on itself;
transformed — and now refined.
By a Refiner’s Fire.
The human soul unblemished
from brightest light that cleanses;
removing us from darkness;
ever closer to new brightness.
This is the divine journey that Dante took;
John Bunyan displayed in Christian allegory;
Likewise the paths of Buddha and The Christ;
and of Muhammad’s mystical night ride…
Alchemical journeys of transformation.
All these journeys were deep within,
requiring descent before ascent;
for knowledge casts its brightest light
in deepest place of darkness;
in cavernous alembic spaces.
That is where the soul must travel,
while searching thus for knowledge:
The locus of the archetypes,
where conscious meets the unconscious;
in realm of the supra liminal.
Beyond causal space is such a realm,
for search of deepest truths.
For truths deeper than the linear,
requiring need to probe within;
to re-discover Psyche’s resting place.
For paradise lost can be regained.
And redemption is the pathway.
The straight and narrow has its thorns.
The Rose of Sharon knows it
as sacrificial offering.
The inward journey of the Betwixt
and the Between,
has an enduring, lasting meaning
indelible to them wayward pilgrim;
and for all lost souls seeking light.
To find the light, one must descend
through deepest, darkest hole;
away from the seven deadly sins.
One must take courage; journey on;
away from darkness, and towards light.
When man is born like child again,
he becomes a shining light;
he becomes a child of innocence,
reflecting that which lies within.
Then shall the Truth to him be revealed.
Then shall this new man, too, rise;
rise and thus be lifted up;
his soul to soar on eagle’s wings;
a risen, resurrected man;
a man reborn of Godly nature.
Truth long hidden, now revealed;
revealed to eyes that once were sealed;
eyes now that see without searching;
enlightened, seeing eyes.
To such eyes will the truth be grasped.
Truth flowing free; from Alembic cup.
Like a Taoist mountain brook.
Flowing, gushing in cavernous spaces;
unsullied brook of Taoist time and space.
Of such nature is this Sacred Truth.
That truth that’s buried deep within,
waiting for human exploration.
Ever so patiently waiting,
is that inward journey offering light
to an outer world so full of darkness.
We, all of us, known or unknown,
are all pilgrims of the nether world;
traveling to that other realm
where conscious meets the unconscious;
and darkness is embraced by dazzling light.
The thought that lingers beckons me
to ever keep on searching,
in realms cavernous, deep within;
with Bardo trust and faith as pilgrim,
the alembic cup ever pursuing.
Scheme | abbxc dexbf bbfcd gcxxc bbbbd ghdcx dixxi jxbbb kfxxd lxmbb cxbBc nbjlb xxbxh xxhom xcbxm xmblp bqbej pphbx qkbbx ldhmb xanBm fhloh |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 1111010 110101 0101110 11000101 11110101 110111010 010010110 101010101 01110111 0010101010 11010110 010100010 010101110 01011010 01101010 0101110 1011100 0101001 01110110111 010000100 11010010 11010100 010101 0101101 111010 0100110 11111100 1101010 1111010 100101010 1101010 11101010101 1110101 0111101 010101 1001010 0101010 110111 0101110 10101110 11001101101 11001010100 101110001 01110011 1101010 11100101 0100010101 11011101 0101110 0100110 11101110 1101110 0101010 1101010 0110101 011011101 111101 111010100 010011101 1101010101 11011101 0010101 01010111 0111011 1010100 010101001 0001 110101010 0100111010 01111101 11011101 110101 011010101 11110101 011100011 11111101 1010101 101011100 01011101 110111101 1111111 1011101 11111101 0100101 011111010 1110101 01111101 11110110 010101 11110111 1101111 1010101 1010010010 0101110101 111011101 11110101 10110010 10110010 1110101001 1110111110 11111101 111010101 10011101 1101010 01010111001 01110101 1101110 01100101 110101110 01110010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 3,798 |
Words | 722 |
Sentences | 35 |
Stanzas | 22 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 110 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 137 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
About this poem
This poem, “The Thought That Lingers: Part Three,” is Part Three of a collection of twelve poems with interconnecting ideas, and with the interweaving theme of “The Thought That Lingers” (hence the title of the entire series of poems), forming altogether an anthology of metaphysical poetry, inter-culturally minded, that was composed in the year 2000, and now published online on poetry.com.
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Written on March 03, 2000
Submitted by karlcfolkes on April 02, 2023
Modified by karlcfolkes on April 03, 2023
- 3:36 min read
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"The Thought That Lingers: Part Three" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/155464/the-thought-that-lingers%3A-part-three>.
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