Poetry in Motion- Here

While riding the subway I remember seeing the poem, “Here” by Gary Snyder, and it is the only Poetry in Motion poem I genuinely related to. I remember reading it as I was on my way to wherever I may have been in a rush to get to and initially thinking to myself to slow down. The poem really made me think about how vast the world is and ask myself that question, “Why are we here” (Line 10). I discovered that the visual art that accompanies the poem is stained glass. The stained glass is in geometric shapes as the artist, Ray King, enjoyed making these geometric structures that played with light. I believe the connection between the poem and the visual is how life can become an illusion just as stained glass may change the color of light when it passes through. This poem was a great choice for subway riders as many of us are not taking the train leisurely, we are in a rush. This constant chaos of running out of time causes many of us to forget about the universe and how big it truly is as well as how small we really are. We constantly have so many distractions and this poem puts everything back into perspective. 

2 thoughts on “Poetry in Motion- Here

  1. Karina

    I totally agree with Andresus that it shows a demonstration on running out of time. It puts an image in your head when you think about Stanza 2. “Is the sound of a jet so high. It’s already long gone by” (Line 4-5) , it shows something so realistic that we could picture or have experienced. I think those lines are the perfect example of seeing time go by fast right in front of your eyes. Often times we wonder where time goes, like one year ago we were 70 pounds lighter and now you’re bigger with a new hair color. It makes you think why are we really here, i loved how you connected the art work to the poem. I feel that was the intent behind it. The light and the window has significant representation of life, for example ” the window to your soul” or ” let your light shine”.

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  2. Somiab

    This poem seems very interesting, I think it has a deeper meaning then other poems. It makes the readers to rethink of their position of where they are. And how fast things can go in the phrase @ how things go by” . And I totally with the comparison you made of us rushing fir trains and time goes by.

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