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Poetry Chaikhana
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There is a lot of richness to discover in this poem by Marguerite Porete. I'll just suggest a few things to contemplate...
Why is she singing these praises of "humility"? What do most people mean when they speak of humility? Do you think a mystic's understanding of humility is different?
Notice that Marguerite Porete describes "Divinity" and "Deity" in feminine terms as "mother" and "grandmother." Bold, dangerously bold, in Christian Europe. But that feminine language, mixed with the imagery of a tree and "buds" and "fruitfulness" conveys a mysticism of nature and life and growth that feels a lot like the writings of Hildegard von Bingen.
"We are silent about them, for speaking ruins them." What a great line. The mystic's silence. Trying to contain the vast, formless Truth in words necessarily entails an editing. The divide between the words and the reality is so great, that silence alone can convey the full meaning.
And those final closing lines about "freeness" and the traps that keep us from knowing it...
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Ivan
M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright ©
2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or
publishers.