Mythopoesis 4 – Beginning To Learn

For NaPoWriMo Day 4

Beginning To Learn

Thank you, Mama,
for the warm cereal
with brown sugar
sprinkled on it. That
made my tummy warm
and I’m not scared
anymore, but maybe
we shouldn’t talk
about dreams, okay?

Are you afraid that if
we talk about them,
it will walk you back
to that scared place?

Yes, I don’t like being
there, riding that galloping
horse through the dark
of that nightmare.

I understand and don’t
blame you, but the first
step in learning is that
you don’t know what
you don’t know.

Huh?

Smiling,  I know, it sounds
sort of funny doesn’t it?

Yes, like a silly kind of riddle
the kind my teacher says
to help us ‘member things.

That’s right. We can’t
remember things unless
we already know them.
Do you remember when
we talked about the Creativity
seed and how you know
if it is growing?

Yes, you said I would
feed it what it needs
by asking questions.

Yes, but there was another
thing you needed to do,
after asking the questions,
to make that seed flourish.
Do you remember?

Umm, listen for an
answer?

Very good, little one,
you remembered. You ask
because you don’t know,
and you listen so that you do.
So, the first step is not knowing
what you don’t know, and the second
step is finding out about what
you don’t know. That is how
learning begins. Finding out is

Asking questions and
listening for the answers!
But what if the person
you are asking doesn’t
want to answer, or doesn’t
know if there is one?

Another good question. What
do you think the answer
might be?

You keep asking?
Not the same person,
maybe another?

Very good again. But, you
need to know that not all
the answers you will hear,
will be the right ones
for you.

But, Mama, if I don’t
know about something,
how can I find out
if the answers are right
or wrong?

Another good question, child.
But it’s time for you to go to
school. Don’t forget your
question, and we’ll talk about
it later, when you get home.

Okay, Mama, and I
won’t forget the question.

I’m sure that you won’t.
You have a very good memory.
Now, go get ready so you
can learn even more.

Elizabeth Crawford 4/4/15

Notes: Knew where this was supposed to begin, but not much else. This making myth is the same as writing poetry. You follow the words. I was surprised where they took me, but then realized this was an important step in the process, or at least my process. Just like you, I am hearing this story for the first time, even though it is very loosely based in my own experiences (and I do mean very loosely). These are mythic characters, thus they are based on archetypes. The mother could be seen as a combination of The Empress and The High Priestess of the Tarot. The Empress being the Queen of Creation, and The High Priestess being all about Intuition.  Although I see the child as a female, she could also be male. Either way, the child is The Fool, that one who is setting off on the journey, the beginner who is unaware, but will learn by taking the journey and hopefully will become conscious in the process. The Child is always the very essence of Imagination. Thank you to all the poets I have been visiting. You have been giving me gifts and reminding me of where I am, how I got here, and giving me directions and inspiration about where I might go from here. The image is another pen and ink zen doodle.