Understanding

[Christopher Stewart]

(« Detail of a poster for the International Hygiene Exhibition 1911 in... » by Franz von Stuck)

« Understanding » is the third segue in the series that I have written as a means of combining earlier compositions into a conceptual piece of nearly one hour in duration.

Each of the miniature musical junctions emphasizes a particular lesson that was learned over the course of a demanding quest, proving essential to the success of the endeavour. In the case of « Understanding, » the acquired knowledge concerns what I refer to as the redirection principle, which is also explored in more depth in « Juggernaut, » and « On the Meaning of Sin, » an upcoming essay.

The title of the sections and of the entire assemblage will be revealed once the whole work is finished. Those of you familiar with the repertoire of Poligraf will possibly recognize some of the themes that are revisited in each of the transitions, and will thus perhaps be able to guess the whole, along with the respective roles of each of the segues.

Again this is an all instrumental demo. The complementary verses follow :

and here i go again
a man on a mission
to achieve by mere pen
identification
of all errors and then
their elimination
so all can hear the wren
sing of liberation

in hindsight i recall
throughout my history
icons and figurines
of the virgin mary
gradually fading
out of reality
and how my bad habits
down to sleep had laid me

remove those obstacles
o eastern deity
the knight of pentacles
i vow to embody
persistent truth seeker
devoted to study
the implicate order
and synchronicity

up the tree of knowledge
hybrid trajectory
immeasurable mileage
towards my destiny
occasional slippage
reckless apostasy
reformative passage
humbling recovery

punished by my anger
selfish hamartia
cruel doppelganger
acts in absentia
inveterate scorner
chronic paranoia
in the naughty corner
constant metanoia

then the meaning of sin
prompted the deduction
hinted the principle
revealed course-correction
traditional wisdom
incomplete depiction
the alternative you
asserts redirection

setback or deterrent
helpful mechanism
experience abhorrent
same automatism
progress in merriment
transcends dogmatism
your own experiment
doesn't need an ism

error is the killer
suppressing the corrupt
thanks to this redeemer
sin will no more irrupt
don't let consequences
inspiration disrupt
resume your advancement
while evil goes bankrupt

of the deadly seven
the root is obvious
whether proud or lustful
glutton avaricious
indolent or wrathful
or merely envious
the all-important self
disregards the gracious

everything comes from mind
for it is in the lead
none can escape the bind
that follows every deed
leave the poisons behind
ire folly and greed
know the ones who are kind
in happiness succeed

to elude the dust cloud
simply uphold the five
intoxications shroud
decoherences prive
resist the disallowed
towards your goal do strive
stay true to what you've vowed
and you will find you thrive

predestined for freewill
construct your adventure
swarms intuit the truth
living architecture
galactic overmind
superconscious structure
error-free dynamic
creating the future