Blackbird ArchiveOn Lines from Czesław Miłosz’s ‘Meaning’
An introduction and table of contents to Edward Mayes's poem sequence responding to Czesław Miłosz's poem 'Meaning.'
The first in a sequence of poems responding line by line to Czesław Miłosz's poem 'Meaning,' meditating on death and sensation.
PoetryThe other side, beyond bird, mountain, sunsetA poem in a sequence responding to Miłosz's 'Meaning,' reflecting on unchanging landscapes and mortality.
PoetryThe true meaning, ready to be decodedA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence exploring lost identity through a found purse and questions of meaning.
PoetryWhat never added up will add upA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence playing with multilingual wordplay around ice, loss, and endings.
PoetryWhat was incomprehensible will be comprehendedA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence musing on comprehension, sorrow, and the sounds of words.
PoetryAnd if there is no lining to the worldA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence weaving Italian phrases and classical references around endings and oblivion.
PoetryIf a thrush on a branch is not a signA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence linking signs, silence, and wartime history through wordplay.
PoetryBut just a thrush on a branch? If night and dayA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence contemplating renewal through images of crocuses, horses, and lilies.
PoetryMake no sense following each otherA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence invoking birth, resurrection, and the desire to disappear.
PoetryAnd on this earth there is nothing except this earthA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence quoting Macbeth and reflecting on the persistence of nothingness.
PoetryEven if that is so, there will remainA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence on doubt, faith, and the impossibility of teaching belief.
PoetryA word wakened by lips that perishA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence drawing on dreams, Emily Dickinson, and a blind grandfather's guiding clothesline.
PoetryA tireless messenger who runs and runsA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence on counting losses and weaving words like thread and music.
PoetryThrough interstellar fields, through the revolving galaxiesA poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence invoking Giordano Bruno's execution and the infinite universe.
PoetryAnd calls out, protests, screams.The final poem in the Miłosz-inspired sequence, on belief, disbelief, and what remains after fear and pain end.