ninehillsRAMBLE in the JUNGLE
Musings in the Key of Life
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · Global
Date note: Undated; the date comes from a later version of the piece by the author.
Tags: philosophy, language, poetry
Everything is perception.
From then on, all else is mystery.
Why is poetry different from normal speech?
Why is music not talk?
What was before the Big Bang? A Big No-Bang?
What really moves a paradigm from A to B?
Is a shift the same as a move?
Why is it called a "building" when it is "built"?
What is the meaning of "re" in religion?
These and several other questions are part
of what keeps Wanaku alert and awake.
Awareness seems to be a better word.
What's in a word that makes it, it?
Breath?
What of the silent words on a page?
Do they jump out and do a jig?
So what makes them significant?
I feel sorry for the page. So many
eyes balling them all day, all night long,
from the rider on the train to
the student burning the midnight oil.
What's with the words on a page?
Nothing?
Something.
Find out.
How do you know something
if someone does not tell you?
You create it.
Can you?
Create?
Yes?
How primitive or
how complex is
your creation?
You tell me.
Or better,
you show me.
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 7–9
Understand
- The poem is made mostly of questions. Pick one and explain what it asks in your own words.
- What does the speaker "feel sorry for", and why?
- How does the ending shift from asking to challenging the reader?
Grammar focus: word play with prefixes. The speaker asks "What is the meaning of 're' in religion?" The prefix re- usually means "again" or "back" (rebuild, return). Asking about it invites the reader to think about where words come from.
Try it: List five English words that begin with re-. For each, say whether re- means "again". Then look up the origin of "religion".
Discuss: "Everything is perception." Is that true, or are some things true no matter how we see them? Give an example for each side.