“Un-Common Mind Creation” [Reflections On Nicholas Ostler's Book, Empires Of The Word - A Language History Of The World, Harper Perennial, 2005 - Chap. 14B Conclusions.] [And Photography and Spanish Series]
Creation of a common mind we say
Comes from the media – the way we play
Our roles, fall into line with Hollywood –
But in conclusion, this guy’s understood –It to be more a language tendency –
It structures speakers as they want to be,
With central givens quite admired by most,
Like English of the ones they like to toast –Those with acumen in the area
Of business ways – in fact hysteria
Attends successful folks who know the ropes
About the world of finance – never broke –But, come what may, somehow come out all right
Without appearing lavish, or too tight –
“The balanced man”; cool dude; efficient type;
There in behind the scenes like shadowed night.Does language make the man? Community?
Do we absorb a way of life when we
Choose to embark upon a mission bold
Of learning how to speak, despite the load –Of work involved in gaining fluency
In other’s ways of speech? Congruency
With other worlds – does that exact a cost?
Are our provincial ways forever lost?Or do we find new language opens up
A different way of life – engaging stuff
For us to ponder as we view ourselves
Then go back home, into old ways then delve?Lord, this is what I’ve found so helpful here
In learning bits of Spanish – views appear
Which broaden out my narrow point of view
And bid me ask, “What now in life I’ll do?”So, thank You, Lord, for this man’s careful thought
So stimulating is big-picture brought
To my attention in his intro, close –
With a promise of more detail there enclosed.Lord, what I hear in viewing book of Job
In Spanish-English texts – translating those
Into my poetry, then photographs –
Perhaps there’s nuggets here to make me laugh –As I play out these thoughts in pix I make
Throughout the photo-course which I now take,
Then I learn how to poems illustrate –
Lord, help me to, in You, participate.Thanks Lord for this.
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