Free Will

[barrie]

Could all choice be just a blind,
sleight of mind
courtesy of Kaos,
designed to bind us
to a nonsense of purpose,
as this old train bangs and rattles
along its uncaring track
to everywhere and everywhen,
stopping at infinity
then steaming back again.

[oranggunung]

How peculiar. I was expecting the last line to rhyme with track. Something like

then gently steaming back.

I'll have to go and have a lie down, then come back to this with a less syncopated head.


og

[R. Broath]

One of the eternal questions, Barrie. Whether it's freewill or otherwise the 'nonsense of purpose' argument holds, methinks.
'There's something in a Sunday makes a body feel alone' according to K Kristofferson and I think this is definitely a Sunday musing.
Enigma inside puzzle inside riddle.

R

[barrie]

How peculiar. I was expecting the last line to rhyme with track. Something like

then gently steaming back.

- Does the last line work then?

Thanks Jimmy - Are you comparing me with the Soviet Union?

Barrie

[oranggunung]

Barrie

there's a trick to this reading lark, isn't there?

I just came back to this and thought I had it, but on rereading it was gone again.


just west of the international punch line

og

[Danté]

Barrie

I rather enjoyed the poderance of the first half of the poem, Kaos and nonsense very intersting.
I'd say that stopping at infinity is rather an infinite problem, but I guess one could have a continual journey which passes the way one went through a worm-hole or pass back by, in a parallel universe.

Tim Dawken

[Merlin]

Nice one Barrie….

Not sure about the last line though, like Orang, I was expecting a rhyme – which I feel would work better…

Shopping Hour

[ray miller]

If you come from Birmingham it is natural to rhyme "again" with "everywhen", which I did straight away. It's the way you tell 'em as much as the way you write 'em.

[Sulpicia]

Hi Barrie
Pretty subtle stuff. I guess it's rattles and infinity that stand out: pretty much everything else is tied in by some sort of rhyme/half-rhyme. Which is nice: since form v. chaos is one theme, and perhaps being made to go and have a lie down is a rather appropriate response, since it feels structured but isn't or vice versa. Life feels structured but isn't? Or we feel like we have a say but we don't? As a counsellor once said to me 'You do have agency, you know.' Do I? And if I did what would I do with it?
Much enjoyed.
Helen

[Elphin]

Neat work - its such a pity I keep reading that title as Free Willie!

again/everywhen works for me - even with my funny accent.

elph

[thoke]

The answer to the poem is 'yes'.

Ben

[pseud]

what is free will? Much better posed as a question than as an affirmation - I have nothing to add there, great stuff. I get the feeling this poem could be longer if you wanted it to be, but it's good as is. On the other hand, I guess the old adage "don't be fixin what ain't broken" might be the best course of action.

Indecisively,

sood.

[barrie]

Thanks all - I was wondering why there was a question about the rhyme in the last line until Ray pointed it out. I pronounce again with the ain as en - aggen, which rhymes with when. Similarly, I wouldn't see a rhyme in again/rain. I should have realized what the problem was - this happened just a few weeks ago - See Elphin's post

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7716

Trouble is, there's no 'correct' way to pronounce English; it all depends where you're from.

its such a pity I keep reading that title as Free Willie!

- Free Wullie, surely.

The answer to the poem is 'yes'.

- I'm not really bothered about an answer, I'm quite happy looking out of the windows and enjoying the ride.

what is free will?

- You've got me there, I'll smile instead.

cheers all.

Barrie

[pitseleh]

hey barrie

interesting musing. perfect for today; being as dismal as it is. by the way i dont get "kaos".. tried googling it, what am i missing?

harrison

[barrie]

Thanks harrison

Kaos is Chaos - just me getting into bad habits through reading too many Victorian books on mythology.

Barrie