Cast adrift on the high, tossing seas of Avyakta,
unable to make my way back to your familiar
world of forms. The meager philosophy of Horatio,
even Hamlet's own lighter, airy one, never
scratched the surface of the wide-open vortex
dragging us down the slippery jaws of uncertain
futures. Those who peel back their eyelids menace
the entrenched powers, the mighty puppets and
their cloistered masters pulling the shekel levers
and the strings. Novelty is always a threat to the
tribal clan, and there's no more dangerous
profession than that of author: just ask Salman
Rushdie. We who pull up strange fish out of the
formless body of Avyakta can keep looking back
over our shoulders, but the dancing wavlets beckon,
drawing our gaze down, down into the glassy deep.
20090804
The Shekel Levers
Copyright © 2009 Ernest Bloom.
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I have yet to peruse the Eastern philosophy. So far I'm stuck in the hermetic prison of the West(but hey, it's not that bad). 'Pulling the shekel levers'- an interesting expression- really has an archaic tone to it.
ReplyDelete"and there's no more dangerous
profession than that of author:"- that is so true! And I love the word author- I know it means writer in general but it can extend to anything. The author of a sculpture, the author of any creation. Creation- that is the word. I would say creator. For it is difficult to create new, yet unpublished images, thoughts and philosophies but it's the most beautiful thing ever, I think. A man has two urges- that of output(think letting the steam off) and of expression, that is, channeling the output into the minds of other comprehending beings(I don't want to be racist by saying 'humans). Creation is the real thing, even if you are simply making a chair- that is still creation- you are conveying your thoughts into the physical world, it's like marking your territory, only a trifle less messy than in the animal kingdom.
Loved the metaphor of pulling up strange fish and the wavlets(what a lovely word) tempting us to look down into the deep unknown.
Does "Avyakta" mean "unmanifested"?
ReplyDeleteI liked the Horatio & Hamlet allusion. ;)
Now I'm frustrated - I know that I had to read something by Rushdie in one of my classes, but I can't remember the darn name of it...