Broken Down, To Be Renewed

[Grido]

La multi ani - A new/Another year (very roughly)

As another year comes to pass,
I come to think, as you do,
About the little things that make it last,
About the many, and the few,

I come to think about life,
Death, and all beside,
About the harmony,
That we supposedly reside,
And the discontent, the melancholy,
The happy, and the sad,

I think of bread baking,
In the rising sun,
Looking out to the hillocks,
Waiting for it to come,

Of the snow,
Falling on my tongue,
But don't eat the yellow stuff,
Said the old man to the young,

Another year passes,
One more yet to come,
I sit and put on my glasses,
And wait whilst I hum.


That wasn't actually meant to be poem-format originally, but meh.


What I wanted to comment about was the thought of being broken down to be reformed into something new. The thought appeals to me, for a couple reasons, but wandered what people thought on the matter?

[Curiose]

I as well like the idea myself. Sometimes, I personally, use the analogy of muscle to kind of corroborate it, seeing as how I love biology, and such things like that tickle me pink. The muscle breaks, and repairs itself to become anew and stronger... I dunno why, but I find it slightly poetic.

The fact of 'breaking down, to be anew' is something that I seem to find fairly fascinating. In Buddhist religion, they believe in reincarnation. While, [not sure if it's the same one] in some country, they use that to form their political restraint on the public. The "Untouchables" would work till death, being good and hoping to do well enough in a living form so that when they die, they become reincarnated into either a higher social faction, or as a Cow.

But it also works psychologically, too..

I'm not sure if you've read Crash, Grido [a story I wrote], but, at the end, the narrator ends up breaking to little pieces. The pieces are picked up, while some are left behind. You fall, you crash, and break, but you repair yourself to become stronger, if a little damaged. But isn't that the risk everyone takes?

[Malaikat Maut]

Many people will view this thread and apply the concepts to their physical bodies, or even their spirituality/soul. I like to consider this as it applies to the psyche. Humans build identities and classifications for things based on previous experience. It's unavoidable that we each have been "constructed" by various inputs. Social and cultural factors play a role, parenting, friends, education and so on. The point is that everyone, regardless of how free and open-minded you think you are, adopts opinions and thoughts and beliefs from someplace external to them.

My point though, is that in order to form new opinions, thoughts, and beliefs the old ones have to be broken down. Depending on the level of belief or how fundamental it is to your existence, your being, your personality; the process can be extremely painful.

[Grido]

whilst the other viewpoints are equally valid, i was thinking about it in reference to the psyche as well, and how one might do it specifically. Also whether people thought it was sensible or other such views

[Curiose]

I agree with what Mr. Maut Maut said.

The experience of changing how you see things can be indeed a painful thing to experience. Breaking down the foundation of what you are to become something new-- and otherwise a 'fixed' issue, is something that most people cannot comprehend or even achieve.

If you look at it, humans are wired to fall into pattern. We behave like clockwork, and change [for some] is not a thing that they can cope with. Alcoholics, drug addicts. They become set in their lifestyle, and therefore, when change has to come around for the better, many do not find theirselves in the sanctity of change. Emotional and physical rehabilitation is something very hard to achieve.

I find it also increasingly hard for people whom have had a difficult life to break down their personality, and reform to something better, mentally. With the past, you can't change that. As I see it, the past is more definite than the future, and therefor, people mostly dwell in the past instead of using the futuristic tools to get better.

[I probably went on a random tangent there, unless I hit target?]

[Asterdai]

when i was storing avy codes in notepad i needed 2 or 3 words to remember them seperately and it got hard when they were similer

if i was to remember this poem, it would be recalled in my memory as "the poem with the yellow snow"
which is strange because you specifically said "stuff" and not snow. its the thing that sticks out for me as i generally wouldnt feel comfortable reading out a poem about wee socially. i think the word "stuff" forces us to question what it actually is, and ive heard the phrase before so i fill in the gaps ("dont eat yellow snow")
you guys are really clever, and im tryingt to understand what your saying
if i can just comment and "break down" a few ways in which i view the poem

for me it is a poem about contrasts, with your title of this forum post it leads me to see it in a certain way. where you say "broken down - to be renewed" i see it meaning phoenix rising from the flames. but i find the poem melancholic, as if seeing the years pass away rather then, seeing it as a new year and a fresh start.
i dont want to write an english lesson when really im not very good..here goes..

As another year comes to pass, [color="#0000FF"](links with the end forming a cyclicular nature to the poem indicating we should see it as such even in the first lines)[/color]
I come to think, as you do, [color="#0000FF"] ("come to think" suggests time to think, suggests age of the poem writer/speaker)[/color]
About the little things that make it last,
About the many, and the few,

I come to think about life,
Death, and all beside,
About the harmony,
That we supposedly reside, [color="#0000FF"] (almost resentment in the sarcastic word "supposedly" consider placement od Death (and caps..) and trio of sad emotions)[/color]
And the discontent, the melancholy,
The happy, and the sad,

[color="#0000FF"] (from sad melancholic, a dream jump to something nice, "flames of happiness" from the low of the last stanza, creating an up and down journey of emotions for us to travel on as we read/listen)[/color]

I think of bread baking,
In the rising sun,
Looking out to the hillocks,
Waiting for it to come,
[color="#0000FF"]
(from the dream to the reality shock at the end, the waiting for death as i see it, "waiting for it to come" all the thinking of "the little things that make it last" life seems futile here, and the waiting is again picked up at the end)[/color]


Of the snow,
Falling on my tongue,
But don't eat the yellow stuff,
Said the old man to the young, [color="#0000FF"]FROM YOUNG[/color]

Another year passes,
One more yet to come,
I sit and put on my glasses, [color="#0000FF"]TO OLD im dunno this bloke just doesnt seem happy! hum sounds to me like a humdrum, and all that waiting Geez![/color]
And wait whilst I hum.


the redeeming nature of this melancholic poem about a man waiting for death, is saved by his memories and nice thoughts, not only does it "balance" it out so i dont want to commit suicide after reading it, it also seems to be one of the ways that the old man is dealing with his bad thoughts, by countering them with good ones of his own past

none of what ive just written is what i wanted to say really, all junky, thanks in advance for attempting to read it

basically a thoughtful reflective moan with a hint of resentment/bitterness, which softens to a waiting hum, when he reaches into the safety of his memories, "renewing" a senceof purpose and vigour even if thatis only by cutting the resentment out

even if i have made glaring errors in understanding the depth of the poem, this is what i would pick up from reading it, good fun!

In relation to your question, after reading and travelling through your poem i would answer

when we experience big loss such as death or a losing a good friend/partner it takes time to "renew" yourself, unlike the man here who is experiencing "hum drum" as he is waiting, he should be like the boy or the person baking bread. Not just melacholically looking back at his life (or in my example a relationship/marriage break up/ death) with pockets of nice thoughts amoung the bad, but actually Doing the baking and being the grandad, and getting out there

if he sits around and mopes at home, the years will flit by, he needs to create memories, new ones, which fade out all the painful bad ones

maybe because im sad at breakup that i see it like this, but its been enjoyable putting some thought down on paper

Edited December 29, 2010 by Asterdai

[HeHelpedMe]

Please watch the "SAW" movie series if you haven't seen those yet.
That's what happened to those of Jigsaw victims who survived his traps.
Their old selves were shattered and they were forced to change themselves and their ways.
" He helped me. "

[Grido]

I have the full set on the shelf above my head (along with many, many other films)

I would kind of prefer not to have to suffer physically like they do in the films...