The fierce spastic
chasing gods
on a greased floor
collapsed
in an aesthetically pleasing
pile in the corner.
I wrote a poem about it,
racked with ennui,
and submitted it for publication.
Epicaricacy is always opportune.
[b]Nebuchadnezzar[/b]
[i]Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.[/i]
Yet again I am besting Ludwig W. (TLP #7)¹
I am evading him by committing my silence to paper.
I mean it.
A Universal of interpretation
Joyce would’ve called it.
Or, perhaps, a quark.
Edit number 29.
Submission 15:53 p.m. UTC -1 (N).
14/11/81
¹Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen.
Author notes
2007RC053
After the call for author's notes, I would like to try to cast a little more clarity. I do not normally do this at all and would rather not annotate the poem. However,...
The subject is language, literature, poetry, knowledge and possession. More precisely it is about the arbitrary and the exact, about empowerment and inability, it is about pellucidity and obfuscation and their roles.
The bits which may seem more arcane are related to the above.
The Joyce/quark was brought up. Consider that quantum physics, a pinnacle of mankind, has at its basis a concept named after a made up word in a made up drinking song...
Finally, could everyone please note: I have not edited this piece 29 times (in fact it's about the only piece on here I've posted which hasn't been altered from the original) and that the numbers at the bottom are not random and are part of the poem.
If anyone would like to discuss the decoding of this poem and anything I have left out, please message me.
A contest entry
- Astudinacky Snolygoster 2.0 by JustBe.
3000 points, ended April 9, 2007, 18 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - The Raven Contest: Uncovering Genius in the Written Word by Raven Contest.
14500 points, ended October 1, 2007, 53 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 16 of 16
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what an interesting little poem... bloody interesting infacT!
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"I myself consider that this is a work of genius; but, even if I am completely mistaken and it is nothing of the sort, it is well above the standard..." G.E. Moore
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My first inclination was to remain silent, but I wanted to tell you that I enjoyed this poem. I learned so much and was smiling too! I'll message you to discuss the decoding of this poem, because I am still curious. I keep seeing the reviewers of Social Text in the first stanza, but I'll have to message you later because, I have neglected my work today in favor of enjoyment. I have expanded the limits of my world and have to retreat to the duties at hand.
Thanks, Mary
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though I needed to your AN to fully grasp the poem in its entirety, I thought this was intelligent, fluid and very well thought out....thank you for taking the time to enter
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Whew! This is quite an undertaking and my hat is off to you! I very much appreciate a poet courageous enough to tackle language and knowledge...I have incorporated foreign dialect into a few of my writes.
I admire someone that takes the art of writing seriously & wish you the best with this write. Blue -
I’m not really sure where to start on this write so I will not say too much about it and leave it for each reader to make up their own mind.
This is my personal interpretation for ease of my voyage across space and time to fathom it out.
Interest factor 10 / 10, for any one willing enough to investigate
Internet Investigation: 10 / 10, I found every thing I wanted to find including Joyce and “quark” and it wasn’t too difficult to translate the quote.
Dictionary investigation: 5 / 10, Epicaricacy was interesting and I had to look up ennui, Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.
Translation of quote: 10 / 10
Suitability in the Astudinacky Snolygoster 2.0 contest: 10 / 10 I can see why it won the gold trophy and this contest page brought some amusement amongst my investigation. (On reflection ‘his’ entry was easier to read lol)
Suitability in the Raven Contest: I need to think about that, but I agree with my fellow judge that some author notes really wouldn’t go amiss.
Time factor needed: 1 – 10 / 10, I think readers will either glance over this poem or if they are interested they may spend hours investigating. It is an interesting journey if taken, but then it could be said that either I like to learn new things or I get sidetracked very easily.
My philosophy on this poem is “I think I lost the plot with this write in this incomprehensible form and wonder if it means something or nothing.”
Now where did I leave my brain? Maybe my fellow judge took it with him as he left lol.
Congratulations on reaching the final round of the Raven Contest 2007 and good luck with this entry.
Northern Raven
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Author comments added as requested.
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Thank you for adding them. There are not many instances where I request the addition of author notes but I think in this case they will allow readers to understand the concepts more fully.
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Seeing as how we were both entrants into the Astudinacky Snolygoster contest I am going to have to recuse myself from judging this piece (ethics concern). I will, however, offer my congratulations on your gold trophy win: that was a difficult contest to do well in.
I can say that I have never before seen "Epicaricacy" in print, which is a rare observation to make. I was delighted to come to understand its meaning due to my reading of this piece and find that the inclusion and use are perfect.
The double meanings that can be found in "committing my silence to paper" are myriad and all compelling. I find considering the hidden meanings within this piece to be an addictive process worthy of the undertaking.
The only part of the piece I can take exception to are the last three lines. "Joyce" and "quark" are a bit too obscure, unless they are cultural references that are not understandable by those who would try to break them apart. I'd recommend author's notes in this piece for more general assimilation.
Thank you for your entry.
~Das -
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Author comments as requested.
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I think some of the quotes come from Germany if I am right.This has much more then is at the surface. I am going to do some research on it. Some authors edit over a hundred times. Many poems are still work in process. Great job. I really like your intro it gets the reader pump up to finish it. Then it leaves a thinking impact. Did I miss something. Great job.For some us who do not know another language it would of been nice to read the quote in English. I know very little German. My grand mother spoke it. I thought I recognized some words of it. I could be wrong.Great work.
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Wow ~ Totally deserving of gold! I really enjoy your work! You never cease to amaze me! congrats!!! whoot!
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You edited this poem 29 times???
Somehow it caught the contest host's eye!
If I edited a poem 29 times it would be comical in the end. Aye, nonetheless, poetry is a personal joy and if one does not understand it, then so be it and move on. 
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i do like the concept you've chosen to work on over here. though, yeah, i can't understand half of it cuz i don't know the references to most of the things you've aimed at alluding here. but i can tell there's depth in this that one with all the knowledge, can easily be hooked with. interesting use of style too.
congrats on the gold!!
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Holy shit.
I've got a beast of a review in the pipeline for this work of genius, but I need to make sure I don't spend too much time on it, so I will come back in a bit and say something that doesn't suck. This is incredible, and Joyce would have thought it was awesome. The fall of Babylon, Tractus Logico-Philosophicus, and the Old Testament all plied to the subject of realism/anti-realism and science/semantics.
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29 edits! wow. That in itself is inspiring
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