I can't tell you where a poem comes from, what it is, or what it is for: nor can any other man. The reason I can't tell you is that the purpose of a poem is to go past telling, to be recognised by burning.
A. R. AmmonsRead
If the greatest god is the stillness all the motions add up to, then we must ineluctably be included.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that ultimate stillness is the essence of existence, and all our actions and motions emerge from this stillness.
A. R. Ammons' quote reflects a deep philosophical insight into the nature of existence, proposing that beneath all life's movements and changes, there lies an essential stillness that connects everything. By recognizing our inclusion in this stillness, we understand our participation in the grand scheme of life, where every motion, thought, and action contributes to a larger, serene whole. It invites us to contemplate the interplay between action and stillness, highlighting the unity in diversity.
Themes
StillnessExistenceMotionPhilosophyLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a meditation workshop discussing the nature of existence.
More from A. R. Ammons
All quotes βEven if you walk exactly the same route each time - as with a sonnet - the events along the route cannot be imagined to be the same from day to day, as the poet's health, sight, his anticipations, moods, fears, thoughts cannot be the same.
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For though we often need to be restored to the small, concrete, limited, and certain, we as often need to be reminded of the large, vague, unlimited, unknown
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Definition, rationality, and structure are ways of seeing, but they become prisons when they blank out other ways of seeing.
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