Politics, love, religion - many poems have been written on these weighty subjects. Most will not stand the test of time. Nor do they speak to us the way a simple poem based on observation does. Observation forms an image, and an image is the spark that gets the poem rolling. The poem may turn out to be about a relationship, a fear, a quite moment, but it all begins with simple observation.
C.P. Cavafy was the master of observation. Whether writing about nature or people, he matter-of-factly, without any bells or whistles, states how things are. Poems written in 1903 make absolute sense in 2010. The natural world is most prone to observation, and many of the best poems out there look to nature for insight. "Morning Sea" is a poem that simply observes a natural scene:
Let me stop here. Let me, too, look at nature awhile.
The brilliant blue of the morning sea, of the cloudless sky,
the yellow shore; all lovely,
all bathed in light.
The opening line is marvelous, the way it forces the reader to stop with the poet and observe nature. And the following lines are just what Cavafy promises. A look at nature. No commentary, no inferences, and yet, it still makes you feel. Words like "brilliant," "yellow," and "lovely," instantly transport you to a glorious sunrise. Indeed, it gives me a sense of euphoria.
The second and final stanza is somewhat different. It really makes you think. Cavafy has made you stop and appreciate this beautiful scene only to stop again and jar your perception. He says:
Let me stand here. And let me pretend I see all this
(I really did see it for a minute when I first stopped)
and not my usual day-dreams here too,
my memories, those images of sensual pleasure.
At first, you might feel hood-winked. Wait a second, you weren't really watching the sun rise over the sea? Yet how many of us write down an image the instant we see it? Maybe we get home and are inspired to write a poem, or we tell our family about the amazing thing we saw on vacation. We might take a picture to help us remember it later. Well, isn't that what Cavafy does here? He has a mental picture, a memory, and he takes it out for us to admire. Can't we all do this? Don't we all do this? Our observations are crucial to how we see and remember the world, and yet we often bypass the natural world, and even the not-so-natural modern world, around us.
So whether you're a writer or not, do me a favor. Take a lesson from Cavafy. Observe your surroundings now. You'll have so much more to look at when you're old and immobile.
C.P. Cavafy was the master of observation. Whether writing about nature or people, he matter-of-factly, without any bells or whistles, states how things are. Poems written in 1903 make absolute sense in 2010. The natural world is most prone to observation, and many of the best poems out there look to nature for insight. "Morning Sea" is a poem that simply observes a natural scene:
Let me stop here. Let me, too, look at nature awhile.
The brilliant blue of the morning sea, of the cloudless sky,
the yellow shore; all lovely,
all bathed in light.
The opening line is marvelous, the way it forces the reader to stop with the poet and observe nature. And the following lines are just what Cavafy promises. A look at nature. No commentary, no inferences, and yet, it still makes you feel. Words like "brilliant," "yellow," and "lovely," instantly transport you to a glorious sunrise. Indeed, it gives me a sense of euphoria.
The second and final stanza is somewhat different. It really makes you think. Cavafy has made you stop and appreciate this beautiful scene only to stop again and jar your perception. He says:
Let me stand here. And let me pretend I see all this
(I really did see it for a minute when I first stopped)
and not my usual day-dreams here too,
my memories, those images of sensual pleasure.
At first, you might feel hood-winked. Wait a second, you weren't really watching the sun rise over the sea? Yet how many of us write down an image the instant we see it? Maybe we get home and are inspired to write a poem, or we tell our family about the amazing thing we saw on vacation. We might take a picture to help us remember it later. Well, isn't that what Cavafy does here? He has a mental picture, a memory, and he takes it out for us to admire. Can't we all do this? Don't we all do this? Our observations are crucial to how we see and remember the world, and yet we often bypass the natural world, and even the not-so-natural modern world, around us.
So whether you're a writer or not, do me a favor. Take a lesson from Cavafy. Observe your surroundings now. You'll have so much more to look at when you're old and immobile.
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