But, in that quick read-through, I can tell that Arthur Smith is talented. I love these phrasing and the images. They are neat and they bring to mind a place - the mountains of Appalachia. I love the way this poem sounds when read aloud. It just flows.
I don't know who Zeno (in the title) is supposed to be. I wonder if it's a person he knows or if it is a Greek/Roman archetype.
I wish I had more time to look into this poem. To see what it is trying to say. I will, hopefully, return to it. However, even with my cursory view I'm impressed. This poem is clever and well written. I feel like burrowing into it.
Favorite line: "Someone always is, but this one's / One of his, / And the difference / Is"
Zeno was a Greek philosopher. His "Zeno's Arrow" paradox was one of (at least) nine referenced in Aristotle and Simplicius. Plato also refers to these in Parmenides, where they are some of if not the first of arguments known as "reductio ad absurdem". Also in mathematics and physics there is the notion of an instant and how that works in reality, these become important later in Calculus and other physics problems. So there's some reference there as well as a pun.
ReplyDeleteWow, Anon! Thank you very much for your explanation. Your comment made my day and I love learning more about what the poem is saying. Thanks!
ReplyDelete