The Liminal Man

Writings of a man born between worlds

The Primary Consideration

February, 2000

The bearded craftsman smiled wide and ran
his hand across a burnished silver bowl
enriched with many gems a wealthy man
might never buy. A member of a guild
applauded for its art, he held a brand-
new, nearly finished, piece. (So skilled
was all its workmanship, that many new
apprentices would study it with care.)
Selecting from a dirty pouch a few
anemic leaves of grass, he placed them with
fraternal care into the empty pan;
on top of grass he added earth and then
opossum hair. His work complete, he cried,
“Let’s celebrate!”, and gloried in his can.

Notes:

My senior year of college, my favorite literature professor, Dr. C— S—, made a comment at the beginning of her Whitman lecture that became something of a legend among our little group of literature friends: “The first thing to consider about Whitman is that the man is a FOOL.” About a year later I finished this allegorical sonnet about Whitman that enshrined that ‘primary consideration’ in the first letter of each line. The tenor of this piece is very much in keeping with the literary education I received at —. I still dislike Leaves of Grass. (TLM, Dec. 10, 2022)

The Primary Consideration? – “The first thing to consider about Whitman is that the man is a FOOL!.”— quoted from Dr. C— S—’s Modern Poetry lecture on Whitman, Jan 23, 1999.

Bearded craftsman — Whitman

silver bowl — symbolizes technical art of the poet

many gems a wealthy man might never buy — double meaning. Very expensive; also worthless

a guild applauded for its art — poets

(parenthetical) — references the lasting fame and influence of Whitman’s work

End of octave, shift to sestet on content which fills the external technical part.

dirty pouch — his heart (not limited to Whitman)

anemic leaves of grass — what he says is neither new, nor profound, just pagan and shocking

fraternal care — the earth is his family, baby. He’s a pantheist. [original word was ‘familial’. Changed in 2002]

empty pan — as yet unspecified allness of Whitman’s pantheism

earth — the inanimate earth

opossum hair — the beasts

“Let’s celebrate” — Refers to the opening line of Leaves of Grass, “I celebrate myself and sing myself”

his can — double meaning. A common noun for a common, open-mouthed vessel not normal befitting a bejeweled work of precious metal. Underscores how Whitman ruined his own work; also his rear end. Underscores how he glories in the lowest parts of animal nature.

The poem's non-traditional rhyme scheme defines an intentional stanza structure.

The stanza lengths (3,3,3,1,4) correspond to the words spelled by the first letters of the lines. “The man was a fool.” That hidden phrase is the answer to the question of the title.

Busted rhyme in the final couplet and banality of the sestet underscores the banality on which Whitman expends his talent.