Journal 4

Fable of Fables

We stand at the source,

the plane tree and I.

Our images reflect

off the river.

The water-dazzle

lights up the plane tree and me.

We stand at the source,

the plane tree, me, and the cat.

Our images reflect

off the river.

The water-dazzle

lights up the plane tree, me, and the cat.

We stand at the source,

the plane tree, me, the cat, and the sun.

Our images reflect

off the river.

The water-dazzle

lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, and the sun.

We stand at the source,

the plane tree, me, the cat, the sun, and our lives.

Our images reflect

off the river.

The water-dazzle

lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, the sun, and our lives.

We stand at the source.

The cat will be the first to go,

its image in the water will dissolve.

Then I will go,

my image in the water will dissolve.

Then the plane tree will go,

its image in the water will dissolve.

Then the river will go,

the sun alone remaining,

and then it, too, will go.

            After reading this poem by Nazim Hikmet, I realized that this poem is about life. Hikmet uses the river as a place to look at herself and reflect on the circle of life. She sees the water as a mirror that reflects off and says, “Our images reflect.” Hikmet says how “The water dazzle lights up the plane tree, me, the cat, the sun, and our lives.” Then as the poem ends she begins to say, “Then the cat will be the first to go,” what I took out of this was how after she saw these things reflecting off the water; the cat will be the first to die, then herself, the plane tree, the river, then the sun will be the last to go. This resembles the circle of life because animals will die before humans and plants will live longer than humans. As the river dries up, “The sun alone remaining, and then it, too, will go.” This quote made me think about how once the sun is gone so is the Earth. The cat, Hikmet, the tree, and the river, can’t survive without the sun.

            I choose this poem because after reading it, it caught my attention because of the steps it takes before the poem ends. The poem gave off a sense of calmness that made me want to read the entire poem. I found great interest in how Hikmet starts off with just the tree and her, and then adds different components later. The poem to me represents the life cycle. This poem can relate to the poems we have read before, for example, The Blessing of the Water. These poems were alike because it uses water as a symbol of spiritual reflection on life.

Work Cited:

Hikmet, Nazim. “The Water and Culture Reader.” Fable of Fables. Ed. South Lake: Fountainhead Press, 2010. 605-606. Print.