Commentary on the Poetry of Ge Ming Cao
original
I'm only halfway
Text/Deng Wanfa
The sky, half the sun and half the moon
The earth, half yang, half yin
The world is half good and half evil
Things, half positive, half negative
I, half myself, half you
Everything in the universe is a simple puzzle
Half spells the other half
The colors are right, the lines are right, and the patterns are right
Fight at the right time, fight in the right place, and fight with the right person
Fight with your heart. You can spell out the whole, spell out the balance
December 10, 2023
赏析
Through reading and analysis, this is a poem with a very unique structure and content, with a unique idea and a clear point of view. The poem is divided into two sections, the first stanza can be seen as a description of the appearance of the law, and the second stanza is to use the law to guide practice. This poem embodies the analysis method of dividing into two, and is the application of the methodology of materialist dialectics, which makes the poem philosophical. At the same time, this poem also adds the idea of the right time, place and people, so that the poem has a complete theoretical support. The two key words of the whole poem are "half" and "spelling", "half" is equivalent to summing up experience, and "spelling" is equivalent to practical testing. And the title of the poem "I am only half" implies that half is missing, perhaps this has become the reason for the poet to spell.
On the whole, if it weren't for the special meaning of the title, the poetry might be greatly reduced. Therefore, a good title is one of the important factors in the success of a poem, and sometimes even plays a decisive role, such as this poem "I am only half". Here I can refer to everyone, and the poetry has an extension and expansion. The following is a detailed analysis of this correlation from the poem.
In the first stanza, the psalmist explains half of the particularities of the universe. Everything in the world conforms to this half of the theory, from the real to the virtual, from the seen to the invisible, whether spiritual or material, this dichotomy applies. The sun and the moon, yin and yang, good and evil, positive and negative, you and me, are both opposites and unified, half of them are indispensable, and if they are missing, they will be unbalanced, and each half has its role. There are many examples like the poet listed, such as good and bad, fast and slow, up and down, left and right, life and death, and so on, you can see a wider world, and find the connection between them from it, and better apply it to practice. This "half" view of the poet is universal and has a positive effect on our correct understanding of things, and it is worth savoring.
In the second verse, the key is in the word "spelling", which is also derived from the "half" above. On a deeper level, we can also understand "half" as a part, or an abstract imaginary number, rather than just the concept of 50%, which has a deeper guiding significance for us to analyze all things. Returning to the word "spelling", everything is made up of parts, and the poet explains a lot of ways and means of spelling, such as colors, lines, patterns, time, place, people and focus, and the final foothold is integrity and balance. The poet spells out completeness and balance from "half", from the appearance, to the essence, and pursues a kind of perfection, which is also the universal ideal and desire of the Chinese people, so this conclusion has universal value and significance.
And from the poet's personal point of view, I am only half, which means incomplete, unbalanced, and need to fight for a complete and balanced, which also interprets the meaning of struggle. Each of us has deficiencies and incompleteness, from the "half" we see the superficial simplicity, and by the word "spelling", we see the inner complexity and relevance. Poetry stops at the point in terms of content, and the changes caused by "half" and "spelling" can be infinitely expanded and amplified, which can be seen as a process of fission, which may never be complete, can never be balanced, and the world is also in an incomplete and unbalanced state. So, incompleteness is also completeness, and imbalance is also balance, and this is the characteristic of the eternal movement and change of the world. Integrity and balance can only be relative and temporary, but this does not prevent us from fighting!
Throwing bricks and leading jade, discussing poetry on poetry, and learning by writing, this is the end. If you have different opinions, please feel free to communicate in the comment area. If you have a recommended poem, please leave a message to let me know, enjoy it together, and make progress together. I am the poet Ge Ming Cao, welcome to pay attention, see you in the next issue of poetry review!
Author: Deng Wanfa, 15 years in the army, with the rank of major, worked in the government department of Zhongshan City, and later founded a business and did business. Passionate about poetry.