Some Reflections on Poetry

Abstract

When the poem “Desire at the End of a Day,” which the reader will read in this book, was first published, its meaning was considered overly cryptic by some, and much was said and written about the notions of “meaning” and “clarity” in poetry. None of this comes to mind at this moment. How could it? For some of what was said and written was profanity and insults, and some was merely the nonsensical content of daily newspapers. Insults on the grounds of differing viewpoints are a well-established tactic, one that has been used by us for ages, a dishonorable legacy passed down from generation to generation among the same kind of penmen. Hence, no generation of writers can boast of being unacquainted with such debates. Especially since, in the fields of science and literature, disgraced and despicable people, sometimes disguised as scholars, sometimes as critics, sometimes as artists, can run their donkeys freely. It would be childishly naive to hope that a courteous conduct will be observed in the exchange of ideas.