The Arrow

Zelkova

The Arrow
by Marin Sorescu

Wounded, he'd have
been lost in the forest
had he not followed the arrow.

More than half of it
protruded from his chest
and showed him the way.

The arrow had
struck him in the back
and pierced his body.
Its bloody tip was a signpost.

What a blessing
to have it point
a path
between the trees!

Now he knew
he'd never again
go wrong
and he wasn't far
from the mark.

Any thoughts on this poem?

NomaDBuddha

Where did you get it translated ?

NomaDBuddha

I know the author is Romanian ( I studied one of his works at Literature Class, but that was a drama, for theater, work). The poem is not bad. Also, you should try Mihai Eminescu (most of his poems, and a sketch called 'Sărmanul Dionis', meaning 'The poor Dionis' ).

NomaDBuddha

I was off topic a lil' bit
The comment : From what I've learned at school, this author has a style of pointing out real ideas using 'absurdities' or 'non-sense' things ( I don't know how are they called, as I've never bothered with literature at school). If you like, you could compare it with a drama work, same author, called 'Iona' (Jon, as in the biblical myth) , where using those 'non-sense' things, shows how poorly understood and how full of bad luck and illusions is human existence.

person

I take it to mean how pain and suffering can help lead us to better ways of living.

shanyin

he looked at the sign post and saw his life

just a thought

shanyin

i dontk now, i really like it though thank you

Zelkova

Where did you get it translated ?

My English teacher showed me this; I'm not sure where he found it. He told me this poem was able to put into words a concept that he was unable to. I just really like the poem and I think it holds a lot of truth. When you know you're going to die, at least in my mind, it would be blatantly obvious what you should do with your life. It's about seeing the truth of impermanence.

NomaDBuddha

I wonder how did your teacher find the poem in the first place ) . As I told above, this one ( Marin Sorescu) has his own style of putting existence related concepts into phrases. If you can recommend him other works ( Romanian) , which have some philosophical content, works like : "The Thirst of the Salt Mountain"-Marin Sorescu; ro : "Setea Muntelui de Sare". "Poor Dionis", ro : "Sărmanul Dionis", and other poems from Mihai Eminescu , some are translated into English;
and all the works of Mircea Eliade, he'll just look at you from another angle.