Poem: "Beyond Babel"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the November 5, 2019 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by janetmiles. It also fills the "Angel" square in my 11-1-19 card for the People-watching Bingo fest.


"Beyond Babel"


In the beginning,
God made the world
not with a Word

but with math,
and out of math
came music, and
they were languages
all of their own.

When the sons of Adam
and daughters of Eve
spread over the Earth,
they spoke one language,
counted the beasts of the field
and sang praises to the Lord.

Then they raised a tower
toward Heaven, and
God was displeased.

When the Tower of Babel
fell, the languages of mankind
were confused, but math and music
remained as intelligible as ever.

For these were the languages
with which God had made the world,
and there was no taking them back out
of it ever again -- the math was in
the seeds of every sunflower and
the music in the tongue of every bell.

The angels wondered how long
it would take the humans to realize
they could still understand each other.

Comments

[erulisse]

some people know/remember. And the rest of us discover it or don't. It's like one of those open secrets. That thing that no one who knows tells you because they assume you know too.

[zeeth_kyrah]

I remember being taught as a spirit to sing material objects together from raw matter and energy, using a "musical monopole" as the working tool. That was when I learned what a monopole actually is, and how one can be constructed (the poles are facing the skin and the core, rather than an axis across the body, it's sort of a 4D object in that way -- and black holes can be monopoles).

[janetmiles]

This is most excellent. I'm reminded of a Cat Faber (I think) song, but can't think of the title just now. When I do, I'll post it.

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad you liked it.

Word of G-d

[technoshaman]

I've known this (and Cat's work) since ... (the next words out my brain are "g-d was a little boy", but that's not ENTIRELY accurate, on multiple counts)... since I was a wee baby filker... which is dang near 20 years now. (I met Betsy Tinney 20 years ago Wednesday next... )

http://www.echoschildren.org/CDlyrics/WORDGOD.HTML

Re: Word of G-d

[ysabetwordsmith]

Those lyrics are so beautiful and so true.

I am flattered by the comparison.

A common Pagan answer to "Do you believe in magic?" is "Do you believe in rocks?" It's not some abstract out there. It's a thing we can pick up and use. And we worship the world its living self because it is awe-inspiring.

We ate supper the other night and I was watching a straw float in a glass. I tried to figure out whether it was floating because it was plastic or because bubbles were forming on it. A few experiments and observations later, we worked out that the bubbles were pushing the straw up out of the soda. And that's a typical dinner conversation for my family. :D

Re: Word of G-d

[technoshaman]

*nods* Something I would sometimes do, ten years ago, would be to hand somebody a copy of Ravens in the Library and tell them, if you don't believe in magic, you're holding it in your hand.

Y'see, in 2009 it wasn't possible to just upload a manuscript and a bit of artwork to a certain Very Large Retailer and call it a book in a few hours. It took YEARS. *Nevermind* grabbing stories by Cat Valente, Seanan McGuire, Elizabeth Jordan Leggett, and NEIL FUCKING GAIMAN... but we did it anyway, because a Bard was in life-threatening trouble, and we were going to Save Our Sooj... the book was conceived in the opening weeks of January, and there's a picture of Phil and Sandi holding it somewhere around 25 May. Phil looks, appropriately, like he's just fathered a child and is holding the wee bairn for the first time...

So yeah. "Do you believe in magic?" "Hellyeah, here's it's cover art." (A signed copy of that hangs over my computer desk.)

[technoshaman]

There aren't very many non-Welcoming Christians in filk, but the few that are, don't tend to like that song. Which suits me just fine...

(OTOH, Welcoming Christians I know in filk? are trusted allies and people I am honoured to know, and one is my best friend.)

[filkferengi]

Do you mean "Acts Of Creation"? https://echoschildren.bandcamp.com/track/acts-of-creation

[meridian_rose]

For someone who loves science this is amazing and is how scientists can understand the world.
For someone like me who eyes maths with vague distaste and loves language, not so much!
The music part reminds me of Bollywood and the music that can be loved by a speaker of any dialect.
I've often wondered if those who like to recount the tale of Babel are against learning other languages.
Also the rise in use of emojis, a return to pictorical forms of communication and things like youtube videos showing how to do something, transcend language barriers which is interesting to think about.

This is lovely! =D

[iamnotgod]

But what does it imply for the species (somewhere, out there) that can't perceive math, or music?

Re: This is lovely! =D

[ysabetwordsmith]

It's rare to find a species that has NO concept of either, because they're both so diverse. Geometry is a form of math, for instance, that doesn't even have to involve numbers -- it's there in the shape of rivers and the twirl of galaxies. Music and song come in many forms, and even animals do them.

But for some, the world might be experienced primarily in scent or touch or some other sense. The world will reveal its patterns to them in their own way.