The Woven Sea by Anjali Chandi

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janis
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The Woven Sea by Anjali Chandi

Post by janis »

Nice spirited poem. I appreciated the theatrical imagery and mythic feel of the poem, not your typical fare.
I don't take drugs: I am drugs. ~ Salvador Dali
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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: The Woven Sea by Anjali Chandi

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Yikes. This is one of those poems where the allusions are so densely layered that I end up with very little idea of what it all means. I can't quite decide if each couplet is a different metaphorical description of the sea -- assuming the sea itself isn't entirely a metaphor -- or a sort of vignette depicting events on the water and shoreline. I suspect that there are some cross-cultural and India-specific references that are sliding right by me ... but then again, they could very well be describing scenes from a beach in Florida!<br><br>The last time I felt this overwhelmed and out of my depth was when I tried reading Foucault's Pendulum (the Umberto Eco bestseller). I had to give up on that one when I ran into one too many passages in a language I couldn't read or find a way to translate.<br><br>This is not to say that this is not a fine piece of poetry -- only that I don't get it. Maybe if I sleep on it, and spend some time with an encyclopedia?<br><br>Robert M.
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janis
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Re: The Woven Sea by Anjali Chandi

Post by janis »

I think what I like about the poem is the very thing that you don’t like: the densely layered allusions. I don’t need a poem to fit into box or even understand it to appreciate it. It’s interesting how we bring in the poet’s background along with our own as we are reading. When I originally read the poem, I got an image of young nymphs who were praying (like the shaman priests) to their god (flame) during some horrible event (trouble -may be battle) but the older mother nymphs lost them and still feel that loss. And that some territorial fisherman (Irish as I pictured them!) disturbed some ancient debris or reminder of them.<br><br>However, on a second reading I got more of an ecological image from this poem. One where we (the 'clannish fishermen') are disturbing the 'woven sea' (which is interrelated and connected to us) which has already become fragile ('conchoidal' and 'troubled'). And that we are destroying something that was once strong and proud ('piercing pearly obsidian streams'). May be the ‘matriarchal nymphs’ are a symbol for Mother Nature and the young ones are symbol of what’s in the sea.<br> <br>We may never know what the author’s intent was but I enjoyed the process of trying to peak into the layers of this poem, and imagery I took from it.<br><br>Jan
I don't take drugs: I am drugs. ~ Salvador Dali
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