The Loneliness of the Car is On-going

The loneliness of the Car is on-going,
Not like reading a newspaper
Where things seem to end.

I sit inside the car
Behind the wheel. Its
Life can be felt here in
This seat.
But with limitations.
If I talk to you
Something different  happens,
Subtle or not.
But here in this space
Looking out on the road
It feels like my eye. My
Eye does this one thing.
Continually.
Only this one thing.
Focusing.
Meanwhile I do the
Looking. The Car is
Like this. It carries,
I travel.

In it's loneliness the Car
Craves my voice. It wants
To be soothed. But I look
Over it or through it. I absent
Myself from its heart. It sits
In the rain, the snow, the
Hot sun, and waits for me.
It is not going anywhere
Until I engage it.
What does all this mean?
I wonder as I stare at the
Red dash lights.
How can I bring this form
Into my arms?
If I close my eyes the
Inside of the Car seems
A dark blue in the evening
Light. When I open them
It has no color. Just darkness.
It is peaceful, like bread,
Here in the Car. I fill
The Car while the Car
Takes me in. It seems
I am everywhere in the Car,
In a way that is necessary.
The Car is obligated to let
Me have these thoughts:
That I am driving, that
I am going somewhere,
And there is no car.

Re: The Loneliness of the Car is On-going

hey ron. i get a resolution . in the rain in the sun in the snow it waits. and then some - it craves . the loneliness is transferred to it. like all this heart ache is too peopled, a lot of it really belongs in the car .coz it adds to the car .theres this yinny yang synergy . maybe its the peace thing that waffled into me :)

Re: The Loneliness of the Car is On-going

Hey valli. hi. I like what you said about all this heartache being too peopled. As I write about relationship to the world I always seem to default to nature. But then I wonder about perception and I realize it is all relationship. Cars, books, fruit, flies, shoes, toothpaste, clothes and people. So my atttempt was bending toward that light. Put some syrup on that waffle for me valli. Ron

Re: The Loneliness of the Car is On-going

This piece gives me a sense of something transcendent, much deeper than what the words appear to describe. I feel a parallel between the Car and some sort of god or higher power - the vehicle, if you will, by which everything moves, yet the one with the intention to move is fully unaware of the Car or the One enabling this movement:

The Car is obligated to let
Me have these thoughts:
That I am driving,
that I am going somewhere,
And there is no car.

This epitomizes the classic dichotomy between ego and the divine. The I-character is stuck in ego unaware: I absent Myself from its heart. In contrast, the Car waits with the limitless patience of a saint:

It sits
In the rain, the snow, the
Hot sun, and waits for me.
It is not going anywhere
Until I engage it.

I love the simplicity of the language, yet there is so much here I could dive into. The universal quality of this piece is delightful - the specific relationship between a person and a car becomes a metaphor through which a reader's own relationships can be revealed much more clearly.

The one thing that tripped me up was the capitalization at the beginning of nearly every line - I didn't understand or feel much the first time I read this because I was so distracted by all the mid-sentence capitals. Without them, I feel that the flow of the sentences and the contemplative imagery could bring me much deeper into the piece - it might also make the purposeful importance of the Car much more noticeable. This is the kind of poem that I love to be drawn into, really feel the energy behind it.

Re: The Loneliness of the Car is On-going

Hi Deleen. Thanks for your wonderful response. First I have to agree with the caps thing. I see how these short lines had the caps at the beginning of each line poking at you. I changed it in my blog post and it does read much easier, better flow. And the significance of the Car is enhanced. Thanks for that. As I indicated to valli, as I wrote this, I began to see how relationship of any kind spills over into the deeper nature of all things. Can't be helped. Noticing or not it is there. Thanks for your thoughtful comments and interpretation Deleen. Ron

Re: The Loneliness of the Car is On-going

hi ron , lets make it yacon syrup . amazonian sweeteners have the right information :) yeah, the relationship thing, matter is where we come from right ? add all that feeling to it and theres everything. and the heartache is top heavy, cordoned off….

Re: The Loneliness of the Car is On-going

peaceful like bread. i like that.