creativeWelcome to new prompter 
the_vulture whose prompt about the Chinese five elements led to this poem. I happened to be researching Aikido last night, so its principles of balancing energies and draining the violence out of a conflict also contributed. So did Taoism. This poem is today's extra freebie. (I still need to choose a regular freebie.)Diminishing Cycles
In the forge,
fire melts metal.
In the carver's hand,
metal cuts wood.
In the mountains,
wood crumbles earth.
In the valleys,
earth dams water.
In the rain,
water quenches fire.
The elements are opponents,
not opposites.
To follow their pattern
is to arrive at the center.
The end of motion is tranquility.
The end of conflict is peace.
This is the Way that cannot be told,
only followed.
June 1 2010, 20:20:56 UTC 11 years ago
Thank you!
June 1 2010, 20:24:07 UTC 11 years ago
The poetry fishbowl is still going strong -- please drop by and give me more ideas!
June 1 2010, 21:01:26 UTC 11 years ago
is to arrive at the center.
I particularly like this stanza.
Thank you!
June 2 2010, 04:00:36 UTC 11 years ago
June 1 2010, 22:43:42 UTC 11 years ago
I do like this one, and I think the short, paired verses work very well.
Thank you!
June 1 2010, 23:37:09 UTC 11 years ago
>>It's like rock, paper, scissors, only with depth!<<
See the version "Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock."
http://www.geekology.co.za/blog/2010/02/how-to-play-rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock/
June 2 2010, 04:04:53 UTC 11 years ago
Have a look, if you will, at this: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interactions_of_Five_Chinese_Elements.png
"Those who are enlightened never stop forging themselves. The realizations of such masters cannot be expressed well in words or by theories. The most perfect actions echo the patterns found in nature." - O Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido
Yay!
June 2 2010, 04:18:10 UTC 11 years ago
I have found much inspiration in the patterns of nature, not only for poetry but for many other things as well.
June 4 2010, 23:47:52 UTC 11 years ago Edited: June 4 2010, 23:48:57 UTC
It's just that- we don't melt metal in a forge (unless it's by accident). The forge heats and softens metal to make it workable, but not generally to the melting point; melting is smelting with iron, and a whole other discipline with precious and semi-precious metals.
ETA: I want to say explicitly that this is a quibble, and I adore the overall point. :)
Hmm...
June 5 2010, 00:15:49 UTC 11 years ago
I ran a quick search online, and it looks like some hobby and small business forges are used for melting metals (mostly jewelry metals) for casting, and some are used both for melting-to-liquid and heating-until-softened. I think the language is less than perfectly precise in terms of offering words that will be both accurate and instantly clear. But it's close enough to work.
>> ETA: I want to say explicitly that this is a quibble, and I adore the overall point. <<
That's okay. Sometimes people know things I don't or spot errors that I didn't. It's worth keeping an ear open, so I appreciate the feedback.
Re: Hmm...
June 5 2010, 00:43:39 UTC 11 years ago
Still- as a jeweler, I have never heard "forge" used about melting metal; for me, "forge" has more to do with hammering a softened metal (usually softened by annealing in a kiln). For J, the forge is what he uses to make iron malleable, and there's also an implication of hammering once that's happened since that's the whole point.
Now, one could melt metal in a forge (intentionally or not, when one defines forge as a noun and thus a heat source). However, mostly that's not how we who melt metal on a regular basis talk about it; it's more about "firing the crucibles", "melting the scrap", etc. Or smelting, if one's going to refine ore or other waste.
When forge is a verb, it's about the hammering.
Again; quibble, and not relevant to the basic point.
And I LOVE the basic point! :)
Re: Hmm...
June 5 2010, 01:19:22 UTC 11 years ago
Would it work better for you if I change from "forge" to "crucible" in that line? The only thing it would lose is the forge/fire alliteration, and I think I'm willing to sacrifice that for the sake of accuracy.
I'm glad you love the theme of the poem. I'm just, well, a perfectionist.
Re: Hmm...
June 5 2010, 02:20:54 UTC 11 years ago
The more I read the poem, the more I like it as is; I think the resonances are excellent in it.
After a number of re-readings, I apologize for the technical quibbling. :) What works is what's good in poetry!