Guest guest Posted April 12, 2001 Report Share Posted April 12, 2001 Hi White Wolfe, I think that Merton's poem is saying what you are saying, except by indirection. Poems often express things by not saying them directly, after all. The speaker in this poem indicates, via his humility, his long life with its many seasons, by his dreams and visions, that he is anything but common. So that last line, "But I am only a common man" is intended, I think, to be received as ironic by the reader of the poem. Also, since Merton was a contemplative and a cloistered monk, I think his intent in writing this poem might be to say that contemplatives don't have anything over the so-called "common man", whose life is just as holy and precious and Beloved as any monk's. David At 08:59 AM 4/12/2001 -0700, you wrote: >this is a beautiful poem and i will not deign to argue with its >sentiment....however i will say that there is nothing common about the >common man....the Beloved takes greatest delight in what is common.....for >in the end we are all common in that we are the Beloved's Lover....^^~~~~ > >further up and further in, > >white wolfe > >- ><adobe36 ><thomasmerton> >Thursday, April 12, 2001 8:48 AM >[thomasmerton] Poem > > > > > > > > ======================================================== > > > > > > A COMMON MAN > > > > I always wanted > > to wear the robes of a monk, > > to bow in cloisters, > > to pass under bells and arches, > > to rise in the night, > > to burn lamps before the sunrise, > > to sing long-ago songs, > > to be called by another name, > > to reap autumn vines and wheat, > > to walk in my sandals, > > to warm my shaved head > > beneath a pointed cowl. > > > > But this was not to be. > > I was a common man > > with a woman, then children, > > with a house, then another, > > with labor, then treasures, > > with worries, then troubles, > > with death, then mourning, > > with separation, then loneliness, > > with seasons, then years, > > and more years -- and age. > > > > Sometimes I hear bells, > > and catch the scent of sun > > on autumn fields, > > and awaken in the night > > with a dream of burning lamps. > > But I am only > > a common man. > > > > > > -FG > > > > > > > > > > > > > > "Christ came on earth to form contemplatives" Thomas Merton > > > > Your use of is subject to > > > > > > > > > > >Your use of is subject to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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