08 April 2008

A Poem on Moderation

Moderation is Not a Negation of Intensity, But Helps Avoid Monotony
by
John Tagliabue

Will you stop for a while, stop trying to pull yourself together
for some clear "meaning" - some momentary summary? no one
can have poetry or dances, prayers or climaxes all day, the ordinary
blankness of little dramatic consciousness is good for the health sometimes,
only Dostoevksy can be Dostoevskian at such long long tumultuous stretches,
look what that intensity did to poor great Van Gogh, linger, lunge
scrounge and be stupid, that doesn't take much centering of one's forces,
as wise Whitman said, "lounge and invite the soul." Get enough sleep,
and not only because (as Cocteau said) "poetry is the literature of sleep",
be a dumb bell for a few minutes at least, we don't want
Sunday church bells
ringing constantly

6 comments:

cce said...

I've pretty much dedicated my Tuesday evenings to being a complete idiot, the recipient of whatever crap Fox has going...American Idol, Hell's Kitchen. I'm aware that these two hours of fluff threaten to poison my brain with the insipid toxins of pop culture but I've gotta get my fix. It could be worse. I could be a crack addict.

Anonymous said...

Ok, I'm going to gently point out that you just explained your concern about the intensity of your connection to the magic portal and then proceeded to indulge a little bit in the guise of preaching moderation.

I'm here for you man.

Where's that football?

Gypsy at Heart said...

What Cce said (with more forearm strength) times the remaining six days of the week. I hear ya... I'm lounging...

Ron Davison said...

cce,
I like this notion - one evening set aside, dedicated to idiocy. I should scale back like that. Just one evening a week. Yeah, that would be cutting down.

Scott,
I was looking for inspiration in this poem. And yeah, why don't you live down the block so we could meet in the park and have conversations under the guise of playing catch? (No, we weren't talking about anything interesting. We were just mindlessly doing physical things.)

Anonymous said...

Down the block? In some countries two families could fit in your house.

Anonymous said...

Even moderation has to be practiced in moderation. There are times when action and intensity are absolutely the best options.