Beware, my body and my soul, beware above all of
crossing your arms and assuming the sterile attitude of the spectator,
for life is not a spectacle, a sea of grief is not a proscenium, and a
man who wails is not a dancing bear.
An excellent quote to read two days before Donald Trump is sworn in as the next president of the US. I have been feeling lost in a Kafka short story, but perhaps I shall read Cesaire instead!
First I had to consult the dictionary for the meaning of "proscenium." If one were a pessimist one might think that we were setting sail tomorrow on a sea of grief with a dancing bear complete with bad hair at the helm...
I should think that the dancing bear is wailing through his dance, and I'm not sure that any of us have any more freedom than such a bear. We're all prisoners as I see us.
This is so evocative and haunting. I had never heard of Aime Cesaire, so I googled the name expecting to find a woman. Surprise!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent quote to read two days before Donald Trump is sworn in as the next president of the US. I have been feeling lost in a Kafka short story, but perhaps I shall read Cesaire instead!
ReplyDeleteI am uncrossing my arms as we speak.
ReplyDeleteI hope things are getting better for you each day.
Had not heard of Aimé Césaire either and soon found this, too:
ReplyDelete"Poetic knowledge is born in the great silence of scientific knowledge.''
Thank you for bringing this man and his insight to light here.
First I had to consult the dictionary for the meaning of "proscenium." If one were a pessimist one might think that we were setting sail tomorrow on a sea of grief with a dancing bear complete with bad hair at the helm...
ReplyDeleteI should think that the dancing bear is wailing through his dance, and I'm not sure that any of us have any more freedom than such a bear. We're all prisoners as I see us.
ReplyDelete