-Stevens "The Snowman"
It's snowing, and money is almost extravagant. This is a landscape that can only be seen in dreams. Snow covers up the filth and noise, and the long-lost cleanliness and tranquility make the troubles that have been stagnant for many days much lighter. At this moment, walking in the snowy world, Steven's snowman is undoubtedly the best companion. This poem is simple and profound. It dispels the complicated reality with images, flies the wings of imagination with artistic conception, and expresses the detachment of selflessness and things with Zen. It is the communication between nature and human beings, the encouragement of nothingness and reality, and the gaze of life and eternity. The snow is boundless, so we don't have to walk too fast. Let's stop in the pine forest and experience the mood of the snowman again, shall we-
Must have a winter heart.
In order to appreciate the frost branches of pine trees,
The branches are covered with snow;
It's always so cold
Look at the red pine hanging with icicles,
In the January sunshine
Cedar is so tall, don't think about it.
Any pain, in the cold wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
What is the sound of the earth,
There is the same wind
Blowing in the same lonely place,
He who listens to the wind listens in the snow,
Man and materialization, gaze
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
There are several versions of Snowman, and I like this version better, especially the first paragraph: "You must have a winter heart/to appreciate the snow branches of pine trees". A few words outline a beautiful picture after the snow, and make this picture dynamic, so that the language can be quickly transformed into a clear picture in the reader's mind, thus having a certain sense of compulsion and real power, making it impossible to prevent. Subjectivity is objective here, and fact is illusion. Poets stand outside the world, above time and space, at the height of fate, and within matter. In this way, I understand what Stevens said: "Poetry is not only a kind of existence, but also a kind of strength" and his proposition of "making poetry a kind of belief".
Secondly, judging from my personal poetry writing, I didn't deliberately make my language have some symbolic features, but I can feel that my expression is decisive and extreme. I often use subjectivity to define objectivity, and use observed reality to replace the ideal in illusion. For me, the more important role of poetry seems to have something in common with Stevens, that is, it becomes the power of structural life, the belief that dominates life, the small stove that warms life and the big landscape that nourishes life. So I like Snowman to a certain extent, and I also like the compulsion it brings me, even if it is dangerous.
Let's move on. This is the snow in early winter. This is a beautiful garden. Yes, "Korean pine is full of icicles." Hard and transparent ice cubes hung down the old branches, forming a spectacular ice jungle. It is still a sign of strength, and I am surprised by Stevens' delicate and accurate observation. In the poet's eyes, landscape is no longer a simple materialized presentation, but the fruit of concise thinking, the essence under the appearance, the metaphor, and the truth revelation after the opposite interpretation. Great is not necessarily hard. For example, teeth and tongue, as time goes by, teeth fall off completely, and tongue is still intact, which still dominates taste buds and conveys a bittersweet message. I think this is also the relationship between spirit and matter. The prosperity of the material world is at its peak, but it will eventually fall to a low point, and the construction of the spiritual building will only get higher and higher, and it will eventually become the last highland to save lives from degradation and the last fortress to resist the destruction of human nature. The fragile fate of mankind will be properly placed here. Perhaps this is also one of the meanings of this poem.
When we accepted Stevens' poetic ideal, we understood his feelings: "Don't think about any pain/in the wind, in the sound of a few leaves/"What is the voice of the earth/with the same wind/blowing in the same lonely place. "This is the feeling after a long communication with nature, which reveals the helplessness and predicament of life and tells us the wisdom of life and the way to survive. Stevens lived in seclusion for a long time, and loneliness made his thinking deeper, more essential and more thorough. Perhaps loneliness is not a particularly bad thing for a real poet. The words of the ancients, "wisdom comes from quietness", still have an unshakable value today. Loneliness brings the poet closer to the sublime, which makes the meaning of life he expresses not the direction of most people, but emphasizes the spiritual improvement of individual independence, which is beyond things. Every time I recite these poems, my restless soul is always static, and my restless heart is always calm. This poem is first and foremost the role of nature. Secondly, I deeply realize that if the profound thoughts of nature enter the core of poetry and turn into the spirit of poetry, this poem will become a miracle, and the power it produces will certainly stand the test of time.
So for so many years, I have been obsessed with the sense of destiny carried by this poem. "What is the sound of the earth?" This question often rings in my ears like an alarm bell, reminding me not to relax, not to be careless, not to think and observe in my life. I tried to give it an answer-the crawling of ants is the voice of the earth, the disappearance of leaves is the voice of the earth, the running of dust is the voice of the earth, the ups and downs of footsteps are the voice of the earth ... there are still rocks, peaks, roaring flash floods and heavy rains. I can use up my imagination, my wisdom and my poor life, I want to say. I am the one who knows the answer. However, time has eclipsed the mountains and rivers, but it cannot change their direction. Last year's gale still passed through this year's ravine, and every gust of gale made us feel the vibration of the earth. So, the answer that just came out was covered by another question. Life grows old and reborn in repetition, and then grows old and reborn, that's all. As a small part of nature, man has participated in endless reproduction and death. What kind of extravagant hopes or pursuits do you have in this process?
Come on, let's reach out and hold a handful of snow, let the biting cold penetrate the skin and reach the bones, and experience the enlightenment of cold to life with the heart of winter.
Let the gazing parties reconcile in stillness, so that nothingness is no longer the source of pessimism, but hope, the warmest breath in walking with snow, the reality without any secular prejudice, and the unshakable firmness and peace in the heart.
This is why I love snowman!