tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988313475311500328.post1930194014429530281..comments2024-03-11T12:13:44.806-05:00Comments on A Year of Being Here: James Broughton: "If you hanker"Phyllis Cole-Daihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12860589719995205974noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988313475311500328.post-74363049865891700362023-01-06T09:21:48.371-06:002023-01-06T09:21:48.371-06:00I also read this as meaning that we already have t...I also read this as meaning that we already have the wings of wonder and the ineffable is here within the mundane. So much in such compact lines!Barb Chamberlainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09000768706045663322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988313475311500328.post-46838176285620914832015-01-06T08:56:02.366-06:002015-01-06T08:56:02.366-06:00The hallmark of many of the best poems--they touch...The hallmark of many of the best poems--they touch people for different reasons, through varied interpretations. They stand the test of being mulled over.Phyllis Cole-Daihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860589719995205974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988313475311500328.post-71469959602656047812015-01-06T08:40:32.138-06:002015-01-06T08:40:32.138-06:00I think it's possible to read Broughton as say...I think it's possible to read Broughton as saying that the ineffable emerges "out of" the mundane, arising from it, as it were! And yes, I do admire the poet's verbal agility and unique perspective here, and in some of his other poems, read many years ago. Thank you for posting this poem -- so thought-provoking!Thomas Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13217297262702709978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988313475311500328.post-44791795410598165992015-01-06T08:18:22.136-06:002015-01-06T08:18:22.136-06:00I'm totally with you, Thomas. However, I guess...I'm totally with you, Thomas. However, I guess I read Broughton's phrase "lift...out of the mundane" a little differently. I read him as asking us for a change of attitude or perspective, after which the "mundane" becomes "divine." Perhaps I'm reading into the poem my own predilections, but I think this is interpretation is valid, given other poems of his. What do you think? Thanks for raising the question!Phyllis Cole-Daihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860589719995205974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2988313475311500328.post-86541494711778533932015-01-06T01:50:08.569-06:002015-01-06T01:50:08.569-06:00The ineffable can emerge precisely from that "...The ineffable can emerge precisely from that "mundane" which Mr Broughton appears (unless I misread him) here to reject. In the eyes of a William Carlos Williams, something as mundane as a wheelbarrow takes on the numinous quality of a holy icon! And don't the Buddhists say, "After enlightenment, the laundry"? The things of the world -- ephemeral, ramshackle, mundane, and even (in Adam Zagajewski's words) "mutilated," can bring us a glimpse of that glory for which we all yearn. Or so I believe.Thomas Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13217297262702709978noreply@blogger.com