New poem – For T.S.Eliot
Posted on Jun 6, 2024 in Blog feature, Gallery, Recent Images, Recent Writing | 48 comments
For T.S. Eliot
Honestly,
Isn’t this every one of us,
As we so frequently are?
Somewhat lost in the landscape.
Seemingly little more
Than just another
Increasingly barren,
Kinetic bag of weary old skin.
Shrunken, shrivelled, afeared.
Though somehow,
Despite the privations
We insist heaping upon ourselves,
Still stubbornly Electric!
Miraculously
And spectacularly alive…
Though how often
Do we skulk
And hide away still?
Thereby only succeeding
In cloaking
This heavenly mechanism
Of ours
In the sticky veneer
Of day to day despond
And distraction.
Till we have lost all trace
Of valour,
Any tint of ruddy beauty
We can call our own.
To hell with that!
Better by far,
To remain exuberant,
To confront life
Head on.
And, in good faith,
Seek out still
The gentle miracles
Therein.
You channelled your inner T.S. Eliot in this poem, Scott, which resonated with me, especially the feelings of being ‘somewhat lost in the landscape’ and being ‘miraculously and spectacularly alive’. These lines stand out for me:
‘This heavenly mechanism
Of ours
In the sticky veneer
Of day to day despond
And distraction.’
Really Great Scott. I loved your observations on life as a human being – and how sometimes it’s like we are just part of the scenery. Very enjoyable reading.
Another great one.. last paragraph the best. I relate because I’m getting older and not giving g into age or time.
Beautiful work.. as ever.
Dear Scottie,
Here you are, blessing us again. I can’t help but draw parallels to Eliot’s work in your poem, especially in the opening lines, “Somewhat lost in the landscape.” There’s such a strong sense of alienation and disconnection here, very reminiscent of The Waste Land. Like Eliot’s characters, there’s this feeling of wandering through a barren, spiritually void world, almost like searching for something that’s just out of reach. The image of being “just another / Increasingly barren, / Kinetic bag of weary old skin” hit me hard. It’s so closely aligned with the existential exhaustion Eliot often evokes, like in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock or The Waste Land, where humans are stripped down to shells of themselves, just going through the motions, disconnected from vitality.
But what really stood out to me was the shift when you go from this dark, hollow feeling to “Still stubbornly Electric! / Miraculously / And spectacularly alive…” That’s the moment of hope. There’s the rub. It reminds me so much of the flickers of redemption in Eliot’s work, especially in The Waste Land, where even in the depths of despair, there’s a potential for renewal. It’s like when you hear the thunder in “What the Thunder Said,” where renewal and spiritual growth are possible, even in a world that feels so fragmented.
Closing with, “To hell with that!”—pure defiance. It feels like a direct rejection of the despair and emptiness that modern life often forces on us. It’s so in line with Eliot’s tension between spiritual void and the constant search for meaning. You’re pushing back, just like Eliot does in Ash Wednesday, where despite the void, there’s this drive for spiritual renewal, for something more. The way you end—“remain exuberant,” and “seek out still / The gentle miracles”—that’s exactly the kind of quiet persistence Eliot explores in Four Quartets, particularly in Burnt Norton, where there’s an invitation to engage deeply with life despite all its chaos and fleeting nature. There’s always beauty and grace to be found, even in the most challenging moments.
I really see Eliot’s themes—alienation, existential questioning, and the search for meaning—woven through your beautiful, prolific poem. I just loved the way you
captured that spiritual defiance and search for transcendence, such as in Eliot’s work. Incredible work, as always.
Warmly,
Rochelle
Eliot the dour and sour kept his brilliance cloaked, whereas Swinburne the rhymin’ bunnybairn loved to ride down banisters naked. Not hard to tell who was the superior poet, nor who had the better time for it.
Scott, so many good lines, hard to pick a favorite. The task is always to avoid that “comfortable numb”ing in the words of Roger Waters. I love how you conclude with “Seek out still / The gentle miracles / Therein.”
Scott, I am not as familiar with TS Eliot as I should be although I picked part of The Wasteland to learn for a recitation at age 10… So whilst I don’t see the references as I might, I find your poem to be a stirring exhortation to live life to the full (and not in an “inspirational quote” way!)
I enjoyed reading your poem out loud, great fun on the tongue, especially these lines:
Of day to day despond
And distraction.
Till we have lost all trace
Of valour,
Any tint of ruddy beauty
We can call our own.
To hell with that!
Nicely Done!
“Honestly, Isn’t this every one of us”
“Kinetic bag of weary old skin.
You nailed it and then the admonition “Seek out still The gentle miracles”
Sometimes it seems too hard to do. But it is good advice.
One must always seek it’s the only way to find…Always know I will read something wonderful here…
Seek out still
The gentle miracles
Therein.
Humans are indeed wired to be hopeful, to want to survive… so yes, we confront life as best we can…and seek out the miracles…though they aren’t always there to find. I like your positive note and urging but am in despair given what is happening in the world with war and destruction and climate breakdown.
Beautiful!! I love “Kinetic bag of weary old skin” and “cloaking This heavenly mechanism Of ours In the sticky veneer Of day to day despond And distraction.” So true and Yes seek out “The gentle miracles” wow
Yes, the exuberance comes and goes as does the skulk and sulk. I like how it comes full circle.
Sharing your hopes, Scott ! Reading the lines ‘day to day despond/and distraction’ one feels the problem very well. Then the poetic voice moves on to healing !! Thus, I feel, the path forward finds us……
“Still stubbornly Electric!
Miraculously
And spectacularly alive…”
I’m going to tattoo these lines in the inside of my heart. The same goes for the closing stanza. They’ll make perfect war cries for those days when “spectacularly alive” feels like a myth.
Scott, Debating within yourself and without limits of life and death.
Most profound.
Yes, Life is hard but good.
Living it is our necessary object.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
I must say this [beautifully[ composed poem strikes a chord, and profoundly. As I age my ‘moving forward, never jelling’ philosophy is how I try to live life. I know just how fleeting it is. Cheers!
Well written Scott, enjoyed the perspective. ✌
Yes Scott! Shame and hiding fulfills nothing! Be you!
Yes, seize the day for sure!
Yes and amen, Scott, to every bit of this! Here’s to remaining “stubbornly electric” (I like the way you put that)! I love this exuberant poem with that touch of tenderness at the end. So good to read you again!
Oh, how I love your up-beat conclusion! (Both exuberant and gentle; *smile*.)
Yes, Eliot’s mood could get very dour and dreary at times – as I guess is true of us all. I prefer his closing section of Ash Wednesday, particularly these lines in similar mood to your own conclusion above:
From the wide window towards the granite shore
The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying
Unbroken wings
And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices
In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel
For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell
Quickens to recover
The cry of quail and the whirling plover
I really like your ending verse. Tells it like it should be for me.
..
I have excavated ruins of our modern civilization with poetry. The Wasteland is an appropriate metaphor. We rarely preserve it. It’s a golden dream. Simplicity expresses the most amount of wide emotions. It seems as though the mundane and the profound are semi-romantic partners. I wish I could praise all this through. I will have to re-listen more. I miss the vitriol and burn in an aging, mature philosopher king like yourself. It’s what lies hidden that is the root of inspiration. I am certain one day the Muse will thrust her almighty sword and anoint the holy ones.
Yes . . .
Better by far,
To remain exuberant,
To confront life
Head on.
And, in good faith,
Seek out still
The gentle miracles
Therein.
Good advice for those who have the choice.
Confronting life is daunting but as you said there are little miracles within that no one can take away.
Perhaps life is a secret miracle that does slowly reveal itself to us. Thought provoking poem!
Brilliant.
Whilst I defy the idea of being an “increasingly barren / kinetic bag of weary old skin” I enjoyed the wisdom and insight in your poem and its hopeful end 🙂
“Kinetic bag of weary old skin … Still stubbornly Electric!” — I can’t help but feel that Eliot would be terribly pleased with this imagery that riffs off his own poetry of anxieties and desires. The note of hope at the very last is gracefully done.
Eliot was one of my first inspirations when it came to writing poetry. This piece, with its call to ‘barrenness’ and finding
Though somehow,
Despite the privations
We insist heaping upon ourselves,
Still stubbornly Electric!
Miraculously
And spectacularly alive…
Perfectly encapsulates the dichotomy between despair and hopefulness that Eliot captured so long ago.
This is beautiful. Powerful lines as you gently help us gather thoughts to the Eliotic likeliness you have brought out within your creativity towards a picture of “The gentle miracles Therein.”
Sweet wisdom, Scott. You manage quite gracefully to highlight the grand vistas without adding the weight of insinuation, the baggage of cardinal direction. It’s as if you would guide not the weary body, rather the wandering soul to choose its course. This for me arrives as a delicious reminder of life’s electric medium – not a linear launch, paddle, and strike ground sort of mastication, but a series of semi-permeable events we string together for the pure exuberance and unpredictable reward inherent in discovery.
Here is the call of liberty to union, and an invitation to make possibility personal. Beautiful work, Scott.
Thank you.
Scott says:
I appreciate this comment very much – you really get what I was driving for here Jeffrey – so pleased you saw it all so clearly.
Divinely inspired Mr Scott my friend. I resonate deeply with this…
“Seek out still
The gentle miracles
Therein.”
And that is what life is about. Beautiful poem, Scott!
This is something – a very powerful echo of our lives. Loved it .
Congratulations
I am a big fan of T.S. Eliot. Thank you for reminding me of “Wasteland”.
So, I’ve just read this several times as I always do and I’m once again amazed at the change of tone from the last poem. Yet, as you always do, perfectly hit the mark. I love it particularly, “To hell with that. Better by far, to remain exuberant, to confront life head on, and in good faith, seek out still the gentle miracles therein.” AMEN!!! It certainly is!
You’re a beautiful, insightful and special talent dear man.
Shari Roberts, I could not express the essence of Scott Hastie any better. Wonderful!
Scott, I love it! Nice surprises. Reborn out of despondance with any tint of ruddy beauty we can call our own. Thank you for that fresh input into our day to day working view of ourselves. “To hell with that,’ lets revisit.
This is a lovely poem
Very impressive, dear Scott! Thanks!
Scott, dear friend, as always, your words assuage the human spirit with the gentle strokes of an artist’s brush, calling upon the human senses, a luminescence of hope, grounded truth and perspective. How deep runs the graces of your love of life, distilling even the most foreboding, languishing thoughts.
Your closing lines embody the healing mindset we all need to live a long and fulfilling life. I give unwavering thanks for your presence among us always.
Amazing tribute to Eliot dear Scott. You surely shine no less than him. Absolutely wonderful. Kudos!Such an amazing piece of a work. Keep on creating more of them ~~
So Insightful And Profound…Good that this too ends on a happy note…NO matter how muchsoever we may be despondent or sulk at the uncertainties of our capricious life, we ought to be hopeful and high spirited; as if waiting for some miracle or fortuitous moments of life to knock our door, as some unfolding of Godly epiphanies by stroke of luck; before we go to Sleep for Good…! So never must one give up in life.
So profound and close to the stark Truth of Life , with a positive uplifting message.
Congrats dear Scottie sir…You made it once again!
Much Regards
Neena
Dear Scott, “the gentle miracles”, indeed! How your words touch me and to see the heartfelt responses expressed here, filled with hope and positive energy, truly reflects your gift to inspire and uplift! You are a treasure to humanity in your time, our time, and forevermore all the generations to come! Thank you, Scott! I am forever moved by your words, your light, and your connection to our spirits always!