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Simone

by Zettel 

Posted: 28 November 2004
Word Count: 109
Summary: Simone Weil died Ashford Kent August 1943. It is said her death was hastened by her refusal to eat more than her compatriots in occupied France. Our current culture calls her an anorexic. Her brother's thought in mathematics received a Nobel prize: hers, in almost every branch of thought, especially philosophy, did not. It is said that before he went to receive his Nobel prize for literature, Albert Camus, who knew and admired her, spent an hour deep in thought in Simone's flat in Paris.
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Simone


Pilgrim of the absolute (Chorus)
Sublime human mind
She died of her passion
For France and all mankind
Simone
Gravity and Grace
With a loving face

Men of genius
As the saying goes
Women’s recognition
No one ever knows
Thinking was her passion
Love was her repose

Outsiders’ patron saint
Injustice tore her soul
She found food for thought
But not her fragile frame
And when of love she died
They called it suicide

How do we mark the passing
Of a troubled mystic soul
The tribes of faith all claim her
Distorting her belief
This restless soul could not find peace
While others lived in grief.

Zettel






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Comments by other Members



joanie at 22:05 on 28 November 2004  Report this post
Zettel, you have caused me to Google to find Simone. This is a very sad story; I like She found food for thought
But not her fragile frame.

Thank you for raising my awareness.

I enjoyed the read.

joanie
Helpful (0) Made Me Think (0) Made Me Smile (0) Pure Genius (0)

Ticonderoga at 15:37 on 29 November 2004  Report this post
Z - fine, thought-provoking, moving piece; as joanie says, makes you want to know more.

Best,

Mike
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Zettel at 22:24 on 29 November 2004  Report this post
Joanie and Ti

Thanks for the comments. SW was one of the most extraordinary thinkers of her time and is totally unclassifiable. There are a couple of good biographies out there if you want to know more. It is worth remarking that she was often as exasperating as a thinker as she was to many of her friends. It is also intriguing that while any woman whose work was undervalued appears, rightly to attract the attention of the women's movement, SW has not. Perhaps because she hs a lot of uncomfortable things to say there as well.

This started life as an effort at a song. I'm not quite sure where it ended up.

Regards

Z
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lieslj at 03:33 on 03 December 2004  Report this post
This is a significant question, one that is too seldom asked:
How do we mark the passing
Of a troubled mystic soul
The tribes of faith all claim her
Distorting her belief

I'm curious to know which faiths perceived her as their own.

Your poem is a very interesting reflection on this suffering soul and her response to the world.

L
Helpful (0) Made Me Think (0) Made Me Smile (0) Pure Genius (0)


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