Tuesday 4 January 2011

Reflections on a tram ride

"...the colors are not out there in the world nor (as classical theory held) an automatic correlate of wavelength..." - Oliver Sacks - The Case of the Colorblind Painter.

We rode on the tram to the town
through the grit and the night
wrapped up in our spacious black coats;
a few of us yawned
and three of us read the free papers.

The tram rattled on through the night
until it stopped near a man who was selling kebabs;
the doors opened and closed
and the sweet smell of meat seeped swiftly inside;
brief halts were announced by mechanical voice.

I gazed at shadows and lights changing places
the face in the window was distant and dark.
_______
gw2011

6 comments:

  1. is the end suggestive of we becoming strangers of ourselves as the journey proceeds...hope not,

    Nice poem and nice additions here,
    Happy New Year Gwilym :)

    wishes,
    devika

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  2. Thank you for your question Devika,
    The end asks: 'Where are the colours if they are not 'out there' in the world and not even a correlate of wavelength?' as Prof. Oliver Sachs of the Dept. of Neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, informs us.

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  3. oh yes, it was running in my mind...the questions of our existence relative to the external world...our knowledge being limited by our ability to perceive...thanks Gwilym for the response :)


    wishes,
    devika

    ReplyDelete
  4. A most interesting subject,and obviously more interesting than we can ever imagine. We are like rabbits in a conjuror's black hat.

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  5. Yes Gwilym...depending on our attachment with the conjuror (whom i prefer to call God) and a careful detachment with the world...the black hat becomes a safe and secure place :)


    wishes,
    devika

    ReplyDelete
  6. a good one Gwilym (I especially commend the link you have advising editors as to how to go about obtaining material from you - thems my sentiments)
    john

    ReplyDelete

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