The Words of Frederick Turner

Like you all, I spent a valuable hour of my time this evening in attendance at the Turner event.  I had no idea what to expect, and found myself presently surprised!  While not a major fan of poetry readings, I quite enjoyed Turner's work, and his reading voice even more so.  Like Nicole, I would likely buy anything this man recorded for books on tape.  He reads with marvelous inflections and power, making his written word truly come to life for the listener.

One line of poetry in particular stood out to me tonight.  I do not remember which poem it was in, but the line went like this "We are given being by our own eradication."  To me, this line reflects Shakespeare's thoughts about our hour upon the stage.  We all know we will someday die; each of us is heading for our own eradication.  There is no escape.  As a result, we are stirred to action upon our stage.  To do what we can, and make what we can of ourselves, within the short time we have been given to perform.  Thus, we are given being.  We create souls, develop them, shape them, by our actions and speakings upon this world stage.  Maybe we create these beings in a hope of finding some sense of immortality, hoping our souls will live on in some afterlife once our time is up.  Maybe we search for immortality through our actions: to be remembered for what we have accomplished, or great things we have said.  Regardless of our goals, every thing we do stems from the knowledge that we will someday no longer be able to do anything at all.  We will physically return to dust, re-entering the greater cosmos which make up our universe.

This line was a "carpe diem" moment for me today.  As the pressures of impending final projects for a myriad of classes weigh upon me, I am reminded that there is more to life than the accomplishments of these short few weeks.  My time here shrinks every day, every hour, every minute, and every second.  We must remember to enjoy these moments and make the most of them.  Do something great with your life.  Create, love, share, learn, explore.  This world is ours but for a few short hours.  Enjoy them before we are eradicated.