Buddha made of bone
Posted: 23 March 2004
Word Count: 49
Summary: God not God....
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Buddha made of bone
Buddha made of bone
undressed from flesh
inside made out.
Holy without God
a man sits still
supported by lotus.
One hand gestures
suffering to end,
one hand falls open
an empty show.
Books rest
on bone ends,
Buddha found
by words weight.
John G.Hall(C)2004
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 fevvers at 12:24 on 23 March 2004
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John
This is an interesting poem. For some reason, but I can't for the life of me think why, it reminded me of Ginsberg. Hmmm. I'm not sure about the last verse, it seems to be trying to explain or accomodate an explanation and I'm not sure how satisfying that is. I loved the first three verses, very elegant.
Cheers
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miffle at 13:42 on 23 March 2004
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John, 'elegance' - yes, I agree with Fevvers here, an apt word for this poem's sound, although, I would define it a little tighter perhaps to say 'natural elegance'.
I did like your earlier Buddha poem and I like this one too. Both feel very restful to me. Both give me some time out - so thank you for that.
On one level here I see a humble bone bookend propping up a collection of poetry books. So to me, it seems, that the Buddha is a support, a beginning and an end (the two ends of the bookshelf), and deeply connected with words and poetry too. In one sense here he is an ornament and a useful object too but of course, too, he is so much more.
On another level here I see a man meditating, sitting cross-legged, palms open, going within - to find the Buddha in him. He too could be the 'buddha made of bone'. ' a man sits still supported by lotus' (lotus position on one level) this ties in with the former sentence and I love this line. To anyone without knowledge of Buddhism (and mine is seedling, only) this reads a very curious line indeed! i.e. how on earth could a man be supported by a 'lotus'? Hmmm... well, perhaps the word 'earth' is the word to lose here... 'Holy without God' would also seem very much a riddle, similarly. Funny, 'Holy' is a word I equate very strongly with the Christian religion - perhaps this is just my cultural placement in the world...
'buddha made of bone', 'Word made flesh' (Jesus), 'words given weight', 'Buddha found skin', all link together for me. These phrases to me speak of a loving God, a loving Divine. A God who in his/her (!?) desire to understand human experience in general (human suffering, in particular) reached out to man through becoming bone, flesh, skin, word - by descending to Earth. I also understand these concepts as the spirit within, as God within.
Re. Fevver's comment re. the last verse - I see her point and yes, I wonder that too. To me, the last verse is the one that gives a) the strong image of the bookend b) a stronger idea of the Buddha giving support. And, yes, perhaps you do not need this as you suggest both, if more subtley, in the first three verses (?). Also, the first 3 verses have unity in image - i.e. an image of a man meditating; whereas, the last verse shifts in image up to the bookshelf. Hmmm... to me it's a meditational poem and, therefore, perhaps it would be more powerful to end with the open palm gesture (?). The last verse, certainly, breaks the meditation.
As you can see, it's made me think! Enjoyed it. Miffle
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Skeetr at 00:41 on 24 March 2004
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John,
I can add nothing more to the insighful readings you've gotten above, except how struck I was by your title -- I'm off to bed at neigh on 1am, but "Buddha made of bone" was enough to keep me online for long enough to appreciate what has rightly been called an elegant piece.
I'll definitely be returning to this in the light of day, with rested eye and, hopefully, something more substantive to say.
But for now...
lovely work,
Smith
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John G.Hall 
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