![]() From the Towers
Insanity is not a want of reason. It is reason's overgrowth, a calculating kudzu. Explaining why, in two-ton manifesti, thinkers sally forth with testaments and pipe bombs. Heaven help us: spare us all your meaningful designs. Shine down or shower forth, but (for the earthling's sake) ignore all prayers followed by against, or for. Teach us to bear life's senselessness, our insignificance, and more; let's call that sanity. The terrifying prospect isn't some escapist with a novel, fond of comfort, munching sweets— it is the busy hermeneut, so serious he's sour, intent on making meaning of us all, and bursting from the towers to the streets. From Volume 191, Number 6, March 2008 Copyright © The Poetry Foundation |