Wednesday, May 27, 2009

for frederico garcia lorca


for frederico garcia lorca
tell the moon to come,
for i do not want to see the blood
of ignacio on the sand
when my father died, i turned to u,
garcia lorca, darkly desolate in the
throes of my first great loss, there
were no filigreefine words for
feelings then, liquid & inchoate, all
had seeped & drained from my
working brain like blood from my
face & organs leaving in their wake
a searing chthonic pain in the space
where my father used to be; the
phantom pain of the physical
presence of a past forever lost.
i had tried to prepare for this
unthinkable demise, even denied
my morbid fear, thinking myself
immune to death’s sting, embarking
on a wild & reckless god
chase, immersing myself in a
looking glass world of spirits,
séance rooms & talking boards,
thinking to avoid death’s bite & the
blistering, running pustules & large
areas of swelling on my soul, but
the scaled winged demon came
despite my denials, wounded me &
took my father away.
in the season of my ungrief, the
gnarly fingers of fate dropped yr
poem in my lap, garcia lorca; yr
lament for ignacio sanchez mejias. i
learned from u. u taught me of the
wildness of grief, so out of control,
so hysterical, without promise of
consolation or moving on. u took
me to a cruel & ugly place devoid
of grief softening imagery.
i followed u through yr poem,
attached to u like a shadow, thru
moments of iodine & lime, thru
moments of elegiac exaltation &
apotheosis where yr friend, ignacio,
a bullfighter gored in the groin like
adonis, is immortalized by the
blood-thirsty masses, while u,
standing apart from the crowd &
detached, know that indifferent
nature does not mourn & the fickle
world has already forgotten his
heroic death.
& i realized while in the poem with
u, while in the bowels of sudden
intuitive realization, that the poem
itself is not what it appears to be –
that this elegy, this passion rite on
paper was for me, intended to
influence me on subliminal &
subsurface levels; that i must wash
my face in that blood that u refused
to look upon or find value in –
ignacio’s blood, nay my father’s
blood – & accept that it has the
properties to heal & make me clean.
for i am u & the blood-thirsty
crowd & this is an important
cypher, a clue & key to deconstructing
my life’s signature.
it came to me that the locus of my
father’s significance was not in the
way that he died but in the way that
he lived. i got a glimpse of the
cosmic complexity, the separate
inextricable meanings of his life for
himself & the timeless, love
wrought agreements that preordained
the impact of his life &
behavior on me.
something broke in me in that
epiphanic moment, like an iceberg
calving into smaller pieces, melting,
overrunning my emotional floodgates
in wild & hysterical release.
i cried til i could cry no more;
copious, blood-flecked tears for my
father & the miracle of his flawed
& tragic life.
i cried for all of the lovers i would
lose & i cried for u, garcia lorca,
like the ants who cried when the
king died, beaten to death by
franco’s falangists, truly a victim of
rough trade, truly a hero for the way
u lived yr life & the courage u
displayed at the moment of yr
death.
u, too, like ignacio, have died
forever like all the dead of the earth
– dead but not forgotten, for the pen
& the poem, the venerable
ancestors of history, have lifted u
up & u, like a magnet, draw us,
writers & poets alike, unto u.
© Joseph McNair; 2009

16 comments:

  1. Everyone has to go through the mourning process from the death of a loved one. Many people dont pay attention to death or think about it until it hits home. The mourning process is just hard to bare with for some people so they turn to other things to hide the hurt from the lost. I think that the death of someoone close will aleays leave a scar but the wounds will heal with time.

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  2. This poem was in dedication to frederico garcia lorca. It seems he was a big influence due to a poem you had came across written by him. You were able to relate to him in relation to a passing away of a loved one, for you it was your father. The poem helped you overcome your fathers death that you are not alone through this tragedy.

    No matter how much you try to prepare for a loved ones death the feeling is unimaginable when it actually happens, the pain is unbearable knowing that no matter what, nothing will never be able to bring back that person. Within the poem I feel Frederico's is saying yes you have lost a loved one but it is something you must overcome.
    "nature does not mourn & the fickle
    world has already forgotten his
    heroic death."
    One thing we must do is mourn. It is never healthy to hold in feelings. To mourn is to let go of everything. To experience death of another is something we all must go through. A painful experience but it is those painful experiences that make us stronger. Makes you realize that you cannot take anyone for granted, you must appreciate your loved ones because it is not up to you but up to God as to when it is their time to go.

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  3. A father dies and the grief is so unbearable one knows not where to turn. It is sudden, unexplainable, unconsollable. You prepare for it like the suthor has, going to seances, reading about it, but when the moment arrives, it's pointless because the grief is such that it paralyzes every part of your system. Grcia Lorca wrote a poem about his bullfigther friend, Ignacio whom was goard in the groin and died. The poem was cathartic for the author and life- altering. He felt that thge poem came at just the right time and that it was written just for him. SOmetime later, he returned to the poem to find it to be like an epiphany, a realization of his father's tragic life and sudden death and Ignacio's sudden death as well.He also realized the importance of his father's life and of Lorca's life and unbtimely death under Franco's regime. Lorca lives on in pen and poem and willnever be forgotten like the author's father will never be forgotten along with the authors past loves which have all left an indelible mark on the author as all our loved ones leave on us.

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  4. This poem is about the grief that the author felt at the time of death of Frederico Garcia Lorca, who was the President of Spain at the time of his death. As I found out by the professor he was beaten and killed by hired henchmen of his lover. The grief that he felt at the time of death for Lorca inspired the grief of his own father’s death. He remembered the death and turbulent life of his father. The death of Lorca inspired something else in the author. It showed that someone’s death meant something because of their life. You must remember the way they lived and the things that they have done. In this your grief may be consoled.

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  5. This poem is about a man killed in the hands of his lover, and even though he is dead he will never be forgotten because he lives through the poems that he wrote. His writing inspires many to be brave. When you think of a person who can send someone to kill their lover, you can imagine that person soul... black and evil. The man in the poem died brave and even though they lied on how he really died, he died a painful death. Many people don’t think about death until it hit the ones you love, but to find out the one you love is the one that want you dead is a hard pill to swallow. As people we have to learn how to mourn, through that process we learn to cope with the decease.

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  6. This poem was about sorrow of someone losing their father and comparing it to the poem writing Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias by a great Spanish poet Frederico Garcia Lorca. In this poem turns to the poet as a comforter because he feels as they understand one another brought on by the death of some dear to them. He believes that Mr. Lorca saved him from drowning in remorse, not being able to see the life from which his/her father lived but why has it been cut so soon. Trying to prepare him/her self but when the time comes nothing can sooth the pain of knowing they will never return. But after reading the poem by Garcia Lorca it allowed him to accept the fact that his/her father has passed on but you must celebrate or give thanks to time and moments shared through the life he has live and shared with you. Death comes, yes you will cry, but you will always remember those loves one, friends and others. Some may do so with by a pen and paper like Frederico Garcia Lorca in a poem.

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  7. For frederico garcia lorca

    In this poem, he talk about the death of his father. He was sad, desolate and he said that he cannot find a word to express his feeling. He said that his brain was unable to work, he was in pain when his father passesd out. He was under the world of spirit, may too many people support him at that time, He was talking about avoiding death which was not too good to me because everyone subject to that in a specific date and time. He did not think if his father had to pass at time. That was a surprise to him.When he said that he had a large area of sweeling in his soul that means he was totally depress.He said that demon came and took his father away from him. He love his father a lot, the dath of his father seems kill him at that time in this poem, he found a support. He was crying for his father and garcia lorca too.
    that i must wash my face in that blood that u refused to look upon or find value in –ignacio’s blood, nay my father’s blood – & accept that it has the properties to heal & make me clean. He try to show you all the love that he had for his father.

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  8. At the beginning of the poem "when my father died, i turned to u,
    garcia lorca, darkly desolate in the
    through of my first great loss," the poet seems to look for consolation through the desolation at the absence of his father. The poet also laments in the fact that not too many people understand the hard word that his father done before he died. Mostly, when we died, all our actions are quickly forgotten; fortunately, there are always some people who will remember the genius lives that we led. Normally, the extra ordinaries lives of the heroes are the pillars that make us proud to be who we are. We should always bear their memories!

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  9. Lost a close person like a father, is missing part of my own body,it is like the heart was broken in several pieces, I imagine. Have someone crossing our life in that time, is like have a litlle more breath to add in your living life. The poet,in his own desesperation grab his friend Frederico Garcia Lorca,begging with his eyes a help to survive. The impact he gave to the poet,believe or not, gave him the courage and made him go througt the depression that was to come.Even all the emotional catastrofe he had to live, he knew he could counting on a friend.Someone with a special magic inside,trying to erase the horrible image of the poet's life

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  10. In the poem entitled, for frederico garcia lorca, the author talks about grief. The author goes into great detail about the pain he felt when he lost his father. The author discusses how he never believed someone close to him would pass away. He believed that he was immune to deaths sting. So when his father passed it was up close and personal. After experiencing his fathers death he talks about how much it taught him. Through his father deaths is how he experienced the wildness of grief and despair. His fathers death showed him how ugly death really is. He learned that there is no promise that you will ever move on from the pain your experiencing when your grieving. After his fathers death is when the author truely realized the impact his father had on him. The poet says that the way his father died doesn't make him significant its the way he lived his life. His father died in a bullfight. Grief is a terrible thing for anyone to experience, but it happens. We as people must learn how to cope with the lost. Mourning is a part of life that almost everyone goes through. Instead of crying about the lost that was lost, we should learn to celebrate the life that was lived.

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  11. In the poem for frederico garcia lorca, it speaks mainly on grief. The author lost his father, and turned to someone in need of emotional relief. He cried for his father, and the life and death of garcia lorca. This is common in everyday life. Personally, I have never really experienced grief at a time in my life where i was able to understand the pain that I was feeling. But grief is an emotional thing to deal with. It makes you vulnerable, and you turn to the first person that's there at the moment. Grief is a terrible thing to deal with. Th author discusses how he thought he was prepared mentally to deal with the death. But no matter what the situation is, and no matter how you think you've prepared yourself to accept it. It still hits you hard, because it is a loved one.

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  12. Our mind are constantly experienced the past event in our life.This poem for frederico garcia lorca is full of emotion. Love,delusion, loss,regret,guilt,desolation,and melancholy constitute the main essence of the poem. I realize by this poem that no one could feel like ready or prepare for any demise. That was for him a big surprise for him to see his lovely dady who did so many thing to make him who he is has been taken away from him by the demon. I also realize that in any sad situation, there will always get someone or something to lean on.He ex

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  13. Grief. Mourning. Desperation. Loss. Tear shed. This poem is an expression of the loss of a loved one. The author of this poem has lost his hero, his father. The anguish is consuming him; he feels hopeless but does not want to be. Like so many, the author tries to 'prepare for this unthinkable demise, even denies [his] morbid fear, thinking [to himself] immune to death’s sting". The author is able to relate to the grief Frederico Garcia Lorca, Spanish dramatist and poet, expressed in his lament for friend Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. The poem says the author embarked "on a wild & reckless god chase, immersing [him]self in a looking glass world of spirits, séance rooms & talking boards." and then it states, " but [death] came despite my denials, wounded me & took my father away." The author was once again left without hope.
    Lamentably, none of us are immune to death stings. The truth is that humans are not meant to die, they are not meant to lose a loved one in death. Promises of heaven for the good and hell for the evil, of reincarnation in other humans, in other animals, of becoming a fly on the wall, an angel, of having their souls roam through Earth protecting or haunting; these promises do not satisfy the victims of the snatch of death. I have found something very satisfying. I have learned in God's Word, the Bible, that "the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all" (Ecclesiastes 9:5). It is so comforting to know that our loved ones that have perished in death are not suffering. They are like in a deep sleep which they will awake from. John 5:28, 29 says: "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment." That is my hope!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Grief. Mourning. Desperation. Loss. Tear shed. This poem is an expression of the loss of a loved one. The author of this poem has lost his hero, his father. The anguish is consuming him; he feels hopeless but does not want to be. Like so many, the author tries to 'prepare for this unthinkable demise, even denies [his] morbid fear, thinking [to himself] immune to death’s sting". The author is able to relate to the grief Frederico Garcia Lorca, Spanish dramatist and poet, expressed in his lament for friend Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. The poem says the author embarked "on a wild & reckless god chase, immersing [him]self in a looking glass world of spirits, séance rooms & talking boards." and then it states, " but [death] came despite my denials, wounded me & took my father away." The author was once again left without hope.
    Lamentably, none of us are immune to death stings. The truth is that humans are not meant to die, they are not meant to lose a loved one in death. Promises of heaven for the good and hell for the evil, of reincarnation in other humans, in other animals, of becoming a fly on the wall, an angel, of having their souls roam through Earth protecting or haunting; these promises do not satisfy the victims of the snatch of death. I have found something very satisfying. I have learned in God's Word, the Bible, that "the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all" (Ecclesiastes 9:5). It is so comforting to know that our loved ones that have perished in death are not suffering. They are like in a deep sleep which they will awake from. John 5:28, 29 says: "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment." That is my hope!

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  15. Death of a loved one is one of the most tragic things that anyone can experience. It trully hurt the author when he lost his father. He didnt want to except the fact that his father was dead and that seems to happen to the best of us. We can never seem to understand when i'll loved ones leave us. Yet we continue to ask why, knowing that there is no logical explanation to our very question. But there is one thing that we will always hold on to and that is the memories of good times and happy moments. Yes the pain hurts and often feel like its killing us inside but sometimes crying is good. It relieves the soul of the pain and hurt. But eventually will get over the lost but we will never forget the memories of our loved ones.

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  16. This poem is about how Frederico suffered when his dad passed away. It is still with him the sorrow. Wherever his dad used to be, if he goes there, he will feel the spirit. "I learned from u. u taught me of the wildness of grief, so out of control, so hysterical, without promise of
    consolation or moving on. u took me to a cruel & ugly place devoid of grief softening imagery." Frederico has been through a lot. When you lost a love one, it like you have lost everything. When stated "i cried for all of the lovers i would lose & i cried for u, garcia lorca, like the ants who cried when the king died, beaten to death by Franco falangists, truly a victim of rough trade, truly a hero for the way u lived yr life & the courage u displayed at the moment of yr death." I have been through that experience twice in my life where I have lost my grandmother a week before my wedding day and my stepfather due to the tragedy in Haiti. It was very hard for me to deal with my grandmother death because she had a part of my wedding. She passed away the Saturday before the wedding.And as for my stepfather, I couldn't accept his death just because. His was the hardest because he wasn't sick. He went to visit his other family members in Haiti and he didn't make it back.

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