ⅻ - [text]

[mnementomori]

[careful writing appears on the Vine, slowly, a pause after each line. The writer is copying it down from a book, after all.]

If recollecting were forgetting,
Then I remember not.
And if forgetting, recollecting,
How near I had forgot.
And if to miss, were merry,
And to mourn, were gay,
How very blithe the fingers
That gathered this, Today!

[with that, the handwriting grows more confident and natural again, continuing further down the page.]


I found this in a book in the library...and a lot of other things like it. Is it some kind of puzzle? What does it mean?

Comments

[no-hometown.livejournal.com]

It is not a puzzle. It is poetry, a form of expressive composition, written in verse. Poetry uses heightened language to discuss a subject in imaginative and often colorful ways.

Poetry can be like a puzzle, as it can be difficult to interpret, or open to various interpretations.

You have never read a poem before?

[mnementomori]

Poetry? You mean what Jill was writing a few days ago?

I guess I have now.

[no-hometown.livejournal.com]

[Sephiroth remembers something of the kind being transmitted on the Vine, though she was preoccupied at the time and did not respond. She does not precisely seek out poetry, but it attracts her attention.] Yes, it is the same, and now you have.

Poetry is popular in my world. Well known poems might have dramatic adaptations based on them. I myself do not have a great deal of interest in poetry, but I have a friend who does.

Did you enjoy the poem?

[urbanwonderland.livejournal.com]

Ah, it seems to be a sad little poem where the author remembers a loved one who is no longer with her-- though she seems to wish she didn't, since it is painful to remember. I think it's lovely.

[mnementomori]

That's what it's about?

[there's a pause.]

How can it be...lovely if it's so sad?

[urbanwonderland.livejournal.com]

Well, that's my reading anyhow! I read it like this:

- If recollecting = forgetting, then I've forgotten. Which means the author remembers very well.
- If forgetting = recollecting, then once again, the author remembers. Perhaps a little too well for her comfort.
- If missing = merriness, and if mourning = happiness, then the author is very very happy indeed. By which she means she is very sad, since she's writing in opposites.

I suppose I think it's lovely because though it is sorrowful and melancholy, the sentiment is expressed in a lovely way. The feelings the author talks about are common to us all at one time or other. Sometimes a poem about something sad can make me feel uplifted, as though I'm not alone and my sadness has meaning. I hope that helps a bit!

[restlessdevil.livejournal.com]

Ah, more poetry. I'm not really good at this sort of thing, especially if the meaning isn't clear outright. It's kind of confusing to me, honestly.

[mnementomori]

Me too. I thought it was some kind of clue to this place at first, but people are saying it's about being lonely.

[restlessdevil.livejournal.com]

Huh, loneliness? I can relate. Well, it does seem to contain a bunch of opposites about missing and mourning and all of that, but what did they gather with their fingers at the end? I don't understand.

voice

[sheroic.livejournal.com]

That's by Emily, right? Emily Dickinson! She was from me and wrote a lot of that stuff.

voice

[mnementomori]

[there's the sound of rustling pages.]

Emily...Dickinson. That's written on the cover. So that's the person who wrote it...

What do you mean, from you?

voice

[sheroic.livejournal.com]

I'm the USA, and she was American! She's really good, huh?

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

It's poetry. It's supposed to sound weird and vague. [Jessica does not approve of poetry]

[mnementomori]

Oh.

But how do I figure it out?

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

After years of English classes, I still think the answer is "Wait for the teacher to explain it." Not that I know how they can tell.

[uberlikehermama.livejournal.com]

That's a poem...

[mnementomori]

Everyone's saying that, but what is a poem?

[uberlikehermama.livejournal.com]

You... don't know what a poem is?

Oh... umm... well... [insert coherent explanation here.]

[orderlybento.livejournal.com]

That's poetry, Xion-san. A kind of sad form of it, really.

[mnementomori]

Poetry...okay.

What's it for?

[orderlybento.livejournal.com]

Well... poetry can be for anything, really!

It's a way of telling a story... And I guess the story this one's trying to tell is that there's a lot of pain in life.

[voice]

[tasercopter.livejournal.com]

Not another poem. At least you had the sense not to read it out loud.

Put the book down and back away while you still can.

[voice] oh yes ;)

[mnementomori]

[she nearly drops the book, in fact.]

A--....Axel!? You're back!

[sistagonist.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you what it means, but it's definitely pretty.

[mnementomori]

Pretty? Someone else said wrote that, too.

It mostly just feels sad to me.