Vox Populi
A curated webspace for Poetry, Politics, and Nature with over 20,000 daily subscribers and over 8,000 archived posts.
David Adès: I
I begin with the downward stroke of the letter I
that could equally be the word I
or as Monty Python observed of Thomas Hardy
settled on a chair at a table on his beloved moors
with pen poised and an air of tortured deliberation,
it could be the downward stroke of the letter T
with which so many books and poems have begun
or equally the downward stroke of the letter P or D
or even one of the downward strokes of the letter H
but I must insist, here it is the letter and word I
which contains everything within itself,
every story, every word, every deed, every thought,
every beginning and end because I am neither here
before or after, making I inevitable, immediate,
inviolable, irrefutable, I the library, I the vault,
I the stubbornness that brooks no argument,
I the prayer, I the lover, I the blessing and the curse,
I the question, I the answer,
I the narcissist, I both best and worst,
I the loneliness I cannot quench.
~~~~
David Adès’s books include Mapping the World and the chapbook Only the Questions Are Eternal. He lives in Sydney, Australia.
Copyright 2024 David Adès
Discover more from Vox Populi
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
What a phenomenal poem! I will be sharing this with poetry students! Love the Hardy reference. Love the whole thing.
LikeLike
David is inspired in his vision and original in his craft.
>
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Meg!
LikeLike
And the loneliness of so many I’s, trying to see beyond.
LikeLike
Yes, the loneliness of the narcissist.
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
We live in a narcissistic society. It is normal to start every conversation, every utterance with the word I. This poem holds that attitude up to the light.
LikeLiked by 4 people
We all live in I world; 8 billon I worlds drifting, chasing, tearing, sleeping behind our cataracted perceptions. Thanks for this reminder.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, Leo.
>
LikeLiked by 2 people
”I the loneliness I cannot quench.”
This is wonderful alphabet of being. Thank you so much!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Yes, the last line.
LikeLike