ρ. Objectifying beauty
‘this poem ㅤ if printed ㅤ must be
ㅤ enclosed by a thick Greek
ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ architectural border
ㅤ by all the sidesㅤ the kind you
see on ㅤ jewels ㅤ ㅤ of Versace’
it is with thisㅤstrangenessㅤ ㅤ that
every time I try to read Marquez
ㅤ ㅤ I am sub consciously realized
of my broadening ㅤ ㅤ forehead
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ the a-faring ㅤ ㅤ hairline
ㅤ ㅤ it is like one ㅤ ㅤ of the times when someone is ㅤ ㅤetherised
upon an Eliotic table ㅤ ㅤ someone with a blurred face ㅤ but a distinct ㅤrazor sharp ㅤ ㅤ pre matured
thinning of ㅤ hair ㅤ and forehead
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ wide ㅤ as the borders
of Macondo ㅤ ㅤ dented
by memories of when he was a ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ child
ㅤ there’s this stereotypical image
in my mind ㅤand perhaps it’s true
that boys with s h o r t foreheads
and hairlines ㅤ nearer to the brows
are the breathing images
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ of beautyㅤ
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ those with ㅤ distant
ㅤ hairlines ㅤ ㅤ ㅤare not
boys anymore ㅤ they are men
with time ㅤ hovering ㅤ over their
heads ㅤ ㅤ plucking hair a strand
at a time ㅤ and filling the bucket of death with it
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ or implying another
metaphor ㅤhere it is like collecting
the hair ㅤ and compressing it under
high temperature ㅤ and pressure
to mint out ㅤ ㅤ a blunt ㅤ ebony ㅤ ㅤ coin ㅤ ㅤfor Charon ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤawaiting at the eroding banks ㅤ of the high headed ㅤfluid hairline
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ I think Charon’s hair’s
thinning ㅤ ㅤ out too ㅤ through ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ the eons ㅤ ㅤ I think he has a veiny ㅤ barren ㅤ ageing bald head
behind that darkly ㅤ translucent
veil of muslin ㅤ that hides the
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ shame
‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.’ But what the modern world has done with it, attaching a certain, narrow perspective of particular rules to be fulfilled to be called beautiful, is revolting. The poem deals with the same consciousness, making its best efforts to convey that image, and shatter it, into as million shards as possible, and transcend it. It repeats some words to intensify the feelings conveyed by them, and enrich the whole experience. The first stanza satirizes on the marketing of literature (for instance), how by adding all that extra-terrestrial glitter the real thing is made secondary, rather than focusing on the material. I leave the rest of the poem to the readers’ mind… and an empowering, illuminating Martha Beck with her, “…but the feeling of beautiful exists solely in the mind of the beheld.”
