Friday, October 13, 2006

Reflections on Kabbalah
By Don Iannone

Have you ever been filled by words
that seem alive to you,
without anyone there to utter them,
or even anyone inside you to hear them?
Words put together in a way
that feel like a deep river,
flowing through you,
filling and emptying you simultaneously.
Words that seem to write themselves
in your many blank spaces,
that are filled with possibilities,
going far beyond the ridiculous words you use
to try to articulate what you feel.
Words that know you—
but not because they are your words,
but because they are you.
You struggle to find
where the words start and end,
but somehow you know—
they have no beginning or end.
When your struggles produce nothing,
you’re inclined to dismiss them,
but they won’t go away,
because they are you,
and that is inescapable.

Author's Note: The kabbalist path is the mystical path in Judaism. I learned some amazing things in my course on this topic this past quarter.

12 comments:

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

I dream of a day like this!

M. Shahin said...

"Words put together in a way
that feel like a deep river,
flowing through you,
filling and emptying you simultaneously.
Words that seem to write themselves
in your many blank spaces,
that are filled with possibilities,"

This poem is just as deep as a river, Don. It is true that words at times do write themselves; this has happened to me several times when writing.

Words are a way to fill in spaces and what a beautiful way to fill spaces :-)

Mike said...

Hey Don, I'm glad to see your Kabbalah class was good! Your poem nicely reflects the power of names in the Kabbalah and the almost supernatural effect they can have on you. I also like how you intertwine the eastern concept of emptiness ("without anyone there to utter them") with Kabbalistic thought.

Amalendu said...

If communication is a bliss, your words seem to be the GOD

Margie said...

Such a beautiful poem Don!
Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Great study and beautiful post. Hope all is well with you and blessings abound.

Dan said...

Good one, Don!

Bob said...

I haven't read the Kabbalah but I will look out for it.

iamnasra said...

Hope you have time to visit LIP (www.livinginpoetry.blogspot.com)

Thanks

CE said...

I might try it one day. I actually downloaded about 700 Mb worth of material, enough to burn on a cd. Just not ready for it. Being a very physical person, I bought 3 DVD's on Taichi exercises; I hope to do it to counteract problems due to sitting a lot.
Actually I don't like the idea of God or anybody nagging me into something.
I'm glad you find it useful.

ufukhati said...

Poems are living in words,
without,
they are only rotten lines and strokes.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thank you all for your wonderful comments.

Nasra...the interview is spectacular. I am endebted to you. So kind and so wonderful. Namaste.

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