"Lines written at a small distance from my House, and sent by my little Boy to the Person to whom they are addressed" and "Never Catch Me" by Flying Lotus
(Freedom from Formal Understandings)
"Lines written at a small distance from my house"
Written at a small distance from my House, and sent by my little boy to the person to whom they are addressed. It is the first mild day of March: Each minute sweeter than before, The red-breast sings from the tall larch That stands beside our door. There is a blessing in the air, Which seems a sense of joy to yield To the bare trees, and mountains bare, And grass in the green field. My Sister! ('tis a wish of mine) Now that our morning meal is done, Make haste, your morning task resign; Come forth and feel the sun. Edward will come with you, and pray, Put on with speed your woodland dress, And bring no book, for this one day We'll give to idleness. No joyless forms shall regulate Our living Calendar: We from to-day, my friend, will date The opening of the year. Love, now an universal birth, From heart to heart is stealing, From earth to man, from man to earth, --It is the hour of feeling. One moment now may give us more Than fifty years of reason; Our minds shall drink at every pore The spirit of the season. Some silent laws our hearts may make, Which they shall long obey; We for the year to come may take Our temper from to-day. And from the blessed power that rolls About, below, above; We'll frame the measure of our souls, They shall be tuned to love. Then come, my sister I come, I pray, With speed put on your woodland dress, And bring no book; for this one day We'll give to idleness. |
"Never Catch Me"
I can see the darkness in me and its quite amazing Life and death is no mystery and I wanna taste it Step inside of my mind and you'll find Curiosity, animosity, high philosophy like the prophesied meditation Reminisce on my wonder years and I wonder yah Sentiments of my words ain't been so sincere The sentiment of my nerves that I just persevere The big thought of fallin' off disappeared to my fate They say that Heaven's real Analyze my demise, I say I'm super anxious Recognize I deprive this fear and then embrace it Vandalizing these walls only if they could talk Conversations don't contemplate to my dark thoughts Lookin' down on my soul now Tell me I'm in control now Tell me I can live long and I can live wrong and I can live right And I can sing songs and I can unite with you that I love, you that I like Look at my life and tell me I fight This that final destination, this that find some information This that find some inspiration, this that crack, the instillation This that consciousness sharpening and fist pump and that bomb detonation Please don't bomb my nation, embalming fluid waiting I got mind control when I'm here, you gon' hate me when I'm gone Ain't no blood pumpin' no fear, I got hope inside of my bones This that life beyond your own life, this say this go for mankind This that outer-body experience, no coincidence you been died You are dead Say you will never ever catch me, no, no, no |
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The Parallels:
In this poem, we're given as readers the concept of escaping traditional book-oriented education, and choosing instead the world of passion and feeling. This is found within nature. The parallel here is "Never Catch Me," by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. In order to truly grasp this parallel, watching the music video is crucial. Within the poem we're given lines such as, " One moment now may give us more Than fifty years of reason." (25-26) This idea being that greater understanding is gained from being out in nature and receiving inspiration, than the understanding one would get in a classroom studying logic and reason. In the song we're given the concept of never being caught, or truly held down. This song presents us with the idea of death as the ultimate escape, and through these means, perhaps we never can truly be held down by our circumstances. When we examine the music video with this song though, the connection becomes stronger. We start with a funeral for a young boy and girl. The adults attending the funeral understand this event through their logic, and it brings them sadness. During their mourning, the children arise from their coffins, and then they begin dancing with what comes across as joy. Eventually they dance their way out of the church, and they go to join with other children outside. These children are playing, jumping rope, and there is an even greater sense of joy. Ultimately the boy and the girl get into a hearse, and while chased by the other children, they drive off. This imagery conveys to the viewer a sense of the children escaping the church building, or the establishment of formal understanding, and going out into the world to experience joy and feeling. It's significant that the adults are the ones that stay in the building, as they would be advocates for the need of formal education. There's also something valuable in that the girl is driving the hearse as the two children leave. This could be read as a means of respect towards women in a genre that typically lacks such sentiments.
In this poem, we're given as readers the concept of escaping traditional book-oriented education, and choosing instead the world of passion and feeling. This is found within nature. The parallel here is "Never Catch Me," by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. In order to truly grasp this parallel, watching the music video is crucial. Within the poem we're given lines such as, " One moment now may give us more Than fifty years of reason." (25-26) This idea being that greater understanding is gained from being out in nature and receiving inspiration, than the understanding one would get in a classroom studying logic and reason. In the song we're given the concept of never being caught, or truly held down. This song presents us with the idea of death as the ultimate escape, and through these means, perhaps we never can truly be held down by our circumstances. When we examine the music video with this song though, the connection becomes stronger. We start with a funeral for a young boy and girl. The adults attending the funeral understand this event through their logic, and it brings them sadness. During their mourning, the children arise from their coffins, and then they begin dancing with what comes across as joy. Eventually they dance their way out of the church, and they go to join with other children outside. These children are playing, jumping rope, and there is an even greater sense of joy. Ultimately the boy and the girl get into a hearse, and while chased by the other children, they drive off. This imagery conveys to the viewer a sense of the children escaping the church building, or the establishment of formal understanding, and going out into the world to experience joy and feeling. It's significant that the adults are the ones that stay in the building, as they would be advocates for the need of formal education. There's also something valuable in that the girl is driving the hearse as the two children leave. This could be read as a means of respect towards women in a genre that typically lacks such sentiments.