For The Sunday Whirl: Wordle #201
http://sundaywhirl.worpress.com
empty, veins, flesh, names, table, weight,
fear, howl, circle, through, ghost, granite
Mythopoesis
Looks a tad dense, like it might
carry weight found in ghostly veins
and flesh of granite.
Myth-o-po-ee-sis.
Slips through air at lips
and fills the mouth.
Makes a smile
(after circling back to O) and tastes
like a morsel of music on the tongue.
Nothing here to fear,
or even to howl about,
but certainly not empty of meaning.
Shares same Germanic stem
as the word named poem
in that other language.
Should find space on any writer’s
table because it owns the face
of making myths from truly
lived in moments.
Elizabeth Crawford 3/1/15
Notes: The word popped into my head a few days ago, pertaining to something I was working on. Had to do some research to see if it was a word and if so, what it was all about. It is from classic Greek, mythopoeia interchangeable with mythopoesis, and means the process of creating myths. It was brought into modern use by J.R.R. Tolkien after he had a discussion with C.S. Lewis, who felt that all myths are lies and false. Tolkien went home and wrote a poem titled Mythopoeia, which became a part of a collection titled Tree and Leaf. In it, Tolkien defends myth-making, and insists that the modern world needs artists who can and do use classic mythological archetypes in both literature and film to tell the human story. And that’s when I remembered where I had heard the word and why it had stuck in my head, but that is a whole ‘nother story.
Image is a photo put through the kaleidoscope app. It just seemed to fit.
Soul's Music 
Wonderful word..wonderful poem…i wonder where Alice fits in 😉
Thank you, Jae Rose. And that one isn’t all that hard to answer.
1. All myths have an element of truth, some larger than others.
2. Everyone owns an inner child, that needs to be nurtured and allowed to thrive.
3. Because she is the essence of imagination.
4. Which means she is all that is creative.
5. Hello Alice, my name is Beth, and sometimes I ride atop a snow-white unicorn.
Elizabeth”
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I really enjoy the ‘process notes’ that you include with your posts. They are so informative and interesting and really add to the depth and complexity of the poems you create. In this poem, I loved the line, “tastes like a morsel of music on the tongue”–so very beautifully worded.
Hello CC. In the higher echelon of academia, the rule is if it needs an explanation, it isn’t really a poem. Although I am, to some extent an avowed rebel, my notes are not me thumbing my nose at that high and lofty canon. They are the me that remembers what it felt like to love words, truth, and music. This is a public place, where all might enter, including those, who like me, might have spent years trying to understand but couldn’t. So, my notes are the me that doesn’t ever want to leave another human being out there in the darkness from which I came. And I love the fact that the line you made note of, is the one that has nothing whatsoever to do with my notes. lol…is just me being honest.
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Hello Beth – thank you for telling me where I fit in…now can i join you for a ride on that unicorn…it sounds fun..thank you Alice xo
Oh Alice, I thought you’d never ask. Of course you can. His name is Benjamin, which means “Son of My Right Hand”. Do you know his story? An evil queen had put a curse on the kingdom, frozen it in the grips of mid-winter. It was the unicorn, which she hated, that reared up on his hind legs, using his hooves to crack open the Fountain of Creativity so that he and his mate might drink. Welcome to my world.
Elizabeth”
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And you are a thaumaturge: a maker of magic and bringer of miracles.
Whew! Viv, now that one is a real mouthful. In the tarot, it is the Magician who wields the power to lift, raise consciousness. Not just his own, but that of those around him. And that, no doubt, is a miracle. I humbly thank you, and now I have to go play with another word. See what you do? It takes one to know one. Trite, but true.
Elizabeth
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tastes
like a morsel of music on the tongue.
— Striking image!
Thank you, Rosemary. We take in food to nurture our physical presence, but music is what nurtures our soul. Music was all I had before I found poetry and poetry allowed me to express what had been growing in my soul. The word itself, seemed to fill my mouth with the music of possibilities. It nurtured my dreams in a way nothing else could.
Elizabeth
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Perhaps that is why they are soooooooo good! Truly lived moments…what is really real anyway?
Oh, Annell…I have to laugh. Your questions always make me stop, still me to listening for an answer. What is real is whatever we choose to be real. Joseph Campbell writes that we resonate to myths because they are the story of the evolution of the human psyche. Which in turn, to me, means that every generation must have Artists who express that ongoing story. But, we especially need poets because, I believe, they are the direct descendants of the ancient prophets, spiritual messengers, who like the hawk, tell us to always remember who we really, truly are. Thanks for asking,
Elizabeth
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What a fascinating new word! I will think of it today as I ‘live.’ Hoping to write a bit of my own ‘mythology’ every day!
So glad you like it, Mary. As a poet, you have been doing that for a long time. Each poem you write holds a bit of your mythology (your story), filled with wisdom and compassion.
Elizabeth
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I love that word.. The ability to create not just myths which Internet is filled with myths and conspiracy theories, to create a complete mythology.. Apparently CS Lewis accepted the notion of creating myths afterwards…
I would have to agree with you, Bjorn. I immediately thought of “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” when reading that part of the commentary. Before I knew that I was a writer, in an attempt to create some form of meditation, I created my own Personal Mythology peopled with wild creatures (as well as dragons). Much later, when I became a writing Instructor, I would take my students through the beginning steps of that process with Guided Imagery. I can only hope that some of them continued on their own. It was a bit of a shock to realize that I ‘kept’ such illustrious company. Think it’s obvious that I love the word as well, lol.
Elizabeth
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” ………….tastes
like a morsel of music on the tongue.” this expression is a real beauty….
Sumana, I would have to agree. Perhaps because with so few words it incorporates most of our senses? Being taste, touch, feeling, and hearing. Thank you for helping me realize that.
Elizabeth
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very nice piece.
Randy
Thank you, Randy.
Elizabeth
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Making myths is what we writers do best, is it not? 😉
Whirling for Good or Ill
I truly do hope so, MMT, otherwise it means I’ve been on the wrong track for years. And I immediately see your sets of haiku, and realize that might be why, more often than not, I read them as a whole, rather than as bits and pieces. As though you, the creator, stand in the middle of a busy market place, camera in hand, whirling around in constant motion, taking quick but clear snapshots of everything and everyone passing by, capturing color, posture, attitudes and feelings all in the moment.
Elizabeth
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I had to look it up myself before I read the poem….love how it trips on the tongue…and how you made this poem around this one word.
Thank you, Donna. I have been told (more than once), that I have a fierce sort of focus when it comes to writing. That might be because I came to its table late and have been trying to catch up ever since? This poem only hints at the depth of understanding that one word has brought into my existence. But then, I find that many words do the same. I did, literally trip over it when I first tried it out, but then embraced it and started dancing with it when comprehension finally registered. Guess it’s true, what someone said about how “love especially loves difficult things.”
Elizabeth
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this was such a lovely concept to play with
Am happy to hear that, Suyash. I have often said that what is posted here is considered to be “drafts”, in need of tweaking, polishing, even a bit of slicing and dicing. And that goes doubly for the wordle poems. I find that I’ve been playing with this one a great deal since posting it. That would seem to mean it holds a great deal of importance to me, both as a person, but especially as a writer.
Elizabeth
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“tastes like a morsel of music on the tongue” is simply delightful to read. Very interesting notes……..and great conversation in the comments!!!!
Thank you once again, Sherry, for your positivism, your encouragement and support. Dare I say it? This word has exploded singing its way through my mind, heart, and soul. You’ve been around long enough to know that I used to respond to all comments on my blogs, but there came a day when I realized that I had to make a choice to either continue in that fashion, or stop the conversation here and simply respond to the other poets and their postings. There just was not enough time for both things. And to prove my point, I am far behind on responding to other posts today. But, it was Jae’s response that actually triggered this conversation. I could hear it clearly in my head even as I finished reading her words here. And so I continued with each one as it appeared. I’m glad that I did because it has helped me clear up some questions I have been struggling with for several days. And I always have tomorrow to finish responding, I hope. How about a one word a day journey in April, kiddo? Would you be up for that? Maybe we could even take turns choosing the words?
Elizabeth
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very clever Elizabeth. that word sounds delicious when spoken loudly. an artist can create a world of their own and can live even being alone
I totally agree, Totomai. Almost slipped up there, in my mind, you are The Man With The Eye. Your photos of the Great Mosque are breathtakingly beautiful and always make my fingers itch, but I have been reluctant to ask if I could play with them because I don’t want to be thought to disrespect another’s sacred spaces. And that might be why my Personal Mythology never went beyond my own boundaries. Although I taught some of that to my students, shared some my own experiences with them, I have no way of knowing where, or even if, they took it beyond those classroom writing exercises. When I created it, I was far from being alone. I was the mother of four active children and the wife of a man who perhaps couldn’t forgive me for not being what he thought a wife should be. When I finally got to a place of my own, I had the worlds of words and colors to explore and they have been more than fulfilling. Thank you for helping me see that.
Elizabeth
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Such a lovely poem … I like how the word becomes protagonist … taking on form, shape and being skillfully revealed as a living thing with purpose and magic ..
Thank you very much, Bastet, for all that you found here. And for understanding how the word let me feel brushed by its magic.
Elizabeth
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Good take on the wordle.
Loved the last lines. Beautiful 🙂
Thank you, Daneshwari. I get the wordle list on Friday, copy and paste it, then drop it in my dashboard tray until Saturday. This list, at first, seemed somewhat dark and a bit intimidating, but after sleeping on it, I decided to try to change that leaning and see if I could bring a little light to the experience. I had been playing with the word mythopoesis for several days, researching a bit, allowing it to settle in and make a home. Took another look at the word list and the two things started coming together almost immediately. Really like it when that happens. I already knew that the words ‘making myths’ would be in those final lines, however they strongly reminded me of another poem I wrote many years ago. Not wanting to repeat myself, I found a way to twist around those old words so that although they say a very similar thing, they are new for this piece. I like the process as much as the outcome, lol.
Elizabeth
PS Tried to leave a response on your site but couldn’t. Did leave a comment at The Poets Pantry, sorry…
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Ah how great the Monomyth. The works of Tolkien and Campbell bringing us back to the world’s stories.
For certain, gl. I find that poetry, language, words, are the secret elixir that some of us find and bring back to our world in hopes of healing it. That means that these things we do sets us on that Heroic Journey, always in search of that magic, willing to do battle to continue, and to share what we discover. And all the time knowing that we are in good company.
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth,
A most interesting journey was possible through your words…I think mythology is a necessary escape from the harsh place reality can be quite often. I like to let my imagination take off on its own mysterious tour, occasionally!! The results can fall ontp paper, at times…
Eileen
I’m glad you found the journey interesting, Eileen. However, your next statement had me asking a question: How much of that harsh reality, of which you speak, is simply the blanket of someone else’s mythology forced on us for the sake of compliance, conformity, and the keeping of the status quo? My journey through mythology (off and on) has been taking place for almost forty years. And within that journey I have found far more understanding of the most essential person I need to know (me), than in any other arena I have entered, including but not limited to: psychology, philosophy, history, and spirituality. And yes, I agree and find that for me, more often than not, the results find their way onto paper. Thank you very much for visiting and for making me think.
Elizabeth
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