BONSAI EDITH TIEMPO POEM: All that I love I fold over once And once again And keep in a box Or a slit in a hollow post Or in my shoe All that I love? Why, yes but for the momentAnd for all time, both !omething that folds and keeps easy, eas y, !on"s note, or #ad"s one gaudy tie, A roto picture of a young $ueen A blue Indian shawl, even A money bill It"s utter sublimation, A feat, this heart"s control %oment to moment &o scale all love down &o a cupped hand"s si'e &ill seashells are broken pieces (rom )od"s own bright teeth, All life and love are real &hings you can run and *reathless hand over &o the merest child
ANALYSIS (1): &he poe &he poem m +*o +*ons nsai ai by d dit ith h &ie iemp mpo o is basically a poem talking about love At first, it will be hard understanding the poem as it is, but as one read re adss th this is po poem em fu furt rthe herr th thee mo more re on onee wo woul uld d unde un ders rsta tand nd wh what at th this is po poem em or wh what at th thee poe poett is trying try ing to conv convey ey to it itss rea reader ders s &hi &hiss poem talks about how one could have that ability sei'e such a huge thought and compact them down to something small to be able to hand them over to one person to another &his poem is about a love of a mother and this love is now being passed on or being handed over to her daughter
One of the literary images that was shown here in the poem was the stan'a, All that I love? love? Why, yes but for the moment And for all time, both.
&his stan'a is an example of an oxymoron An oxy oxymo moro ron n is def defin ined ed in th thee di dict ctio iona nary ry as a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction conjunction In this part, the poet is tell te llin ing g it itss re read ader erss th that at lo love ve ca can n on only ly be fo forr a moment or temporary because hatred could come which could destroy love and at the same time, love can also be forever or eternal Another literary image that was shown here in the poem was the +&o a cupped hand"s si'e &his part of the poem is telling its readers that love is something that could be given and received &his shows how the author thinks that love is something that we ask for and also what we give away &his being said, this stan'a also shows that love can also be reduced into something small or o r in other words, a cupped hand"s si'e, that could handed over to everyone One could be wonder wondering ing or askin asking g himse himself lf why the author used +*onsai as its title when a bonsai is .ust defined as an orn orname amenta ntall tr tree ee or shrub grown in a pot and artificially prevented from from reaching its normal size in size in the dictionary &he poem was entitled entitled +*o +*onsa nsai i beca because use one lov loves es .us .ustt as something that could be kept much like a bonsai &his poem, *onsai, is about how love is simplified and reduced so that one can give it out to others !ince this love is now compacted or shrunk down to something small that can be given, it is much like a bonsai which is a simplified version of a huge and enormous tree that could be given away and handed over to others &hus, this love is now being passed down to generations
ANALYSIS (2): A fir irst st rea eadi ding ng of di ditth / &iem empo po""s signature poem is a tad confounding, for the first lady of 0hi 0hilip lippin pinee poe poetry try in ng nglis lish h depl deploys oys the cent ce ntri ripet petal al-c -cen entr trif ifuga ugall-ce cent ntri ripet petal al 1orr 1o inwar in warddoutw ou twar ardd-iinw nwar ard2 d2 mo moti tion on in ex expr pres esssin ing g he her r profoundest thoughts and deepest feelings about love &he title itself, +*onsai, is a bit misleading,
since nowhere else in the poem are there any further refe re fere renc nces es to pl plan antt li life fe or th thee an anci cient ent 3a 3apa pane nese se techni$ue of cultivating miniature trees or shrubs through dwarfing by selective pruning !ome might even argue that +Orig +Origami ami is the better title title choice choice,, for at least the persona"s act of folding ob.ects is a bit analogous to the 3apanese art of paper folding to make complicated shapes *ut this reader will prove at the end of this essay that +*onsai is the most appropriate title for the poem, something that is not $uite obvious to most people after their perfunctory appraisal of this often misread literary masterpiece 4oweve 4owe ver, r, des despi pite te th thee fa fals lsee le lead, ad, ev even en a cursory perusal of the poem reveals to the sensitive and sensible reader that +*onsai is about love, if only because the four-letter word is mentioned in all four stan'as In the first stan'a, the persona declares that she folds everything that she loves and keeps them hidden in secret places5 “a box, Or a slit in a hollo! "ost, Or in my shoe.# What then are the thin$s she %onsiders im"erative im"erative enou$h to &ee"? At first glance, the catalogue of her beloved ob.ects in the second stan'a appears to be disparate, unre un rela late ted, d, al almo most st ra rand ndom om,, if no nott co com mpl plet etel ely y aleatory *ut since a literary sorceress like &iempo seldom commits mistakes in con.uring appropriate images, then there must a be reason for singling out these the se par partic ticula ularr ite items ms and not oth others ers &he mor moree important $uery therefore is this5 What do +!on"s note or #ad"s one gaudy tie,6 A rot o 77br8ken77
former winner of the %iss
8s, another indicator of the (ilipino flavor of the poe oem m, since the 0hilip 0hi lippin pines es is a page pageant ant-ob -obses sessed sed &hi &hird rd World country2 &he referents of the last two items are more covert and thereby more difficult to decipher At best, we can only speculate on the persons and6or events that make the two things significant5 blue Indi In dian an sh shaw awll 1 1di dith th""s en enga gage geme ment nt da date te wi with th dilberto, her first winter in Iowa, her last autumn in #env #enver? er?29 29 mon money ey bil billl 14e 14err ini initia tiall sal salary ary fro from m !illiman ;niversity, cash pri'e from the #on @arlos 0alanca %emorial Awards Awards for /iterature?2 In the long run though the indeterminacy of thee al th allu lusi sion onss do does es no nott re real ally ly ma matt tter er,, fo forr th thee opa$uen opa $ueness ess of the sym symbol bolss lea leads ds not to gene generic ric obsc ob scur uriity an and d ob obffus usca cattio ion, n, bu butt to pe perrso sona nall mythology and mystery 0erhaps part of the poem"s mess me ssag agee is th that at th thee th thin ings gs a pe pers rson on co cons nsid ider erss memo me mora rabl blee an and d th ther eref efor oree val valua uabl blee mo most st ot othe her r people might think of as debris, detritus or dirt 1
77br8ken77
“'very ob(e%t tou%hed by the loved bein$)s body be%omes "art of that body, and the sub(e%t ea$erly atta%hes himself to it.#
If we are to assume that the speaking voice of +*onsai closely resembles the poet"s own, then the first three ob.ects must represent members of herr im he imme medi diat atee fa fami mily ly55 son %a %ald ldon on99 hu husb sban and d dilberto 1It is a well-known fact among writing fell fe llows ows an and d pa panel nelis ists ts of th thee !i !ill llim iman an Wri rite ters rs"" Workshop that dith fondly called the late fictionist and literary critic +#ad, while being addressed by her husband as +%om, which is a common practice among amo ng (il (ilipi ipino no coup couples les29 29 and daug daughte hterr :ow :owena ena 1;nknown to many, the current 0rogram Administrator of the Iowa Writers" Workshop is a
Interestingly, the second stan'a commences with what appears to be a rhetorical $uestion 1+All that I love?2, which the persona answers with a paradox5 +Why, yes, yes, but for the moment ---6 And for all time, both &he significance of these seemingly self- contradictory lines will be discussed towards the end of this essay, but for now this reader will foc ocus us on the fac actt tha hatt the pe pers rson onaa pa paus uses es to contemplate on the germane issue of the scope of herr lo he love, ve, bef befor oree sh shee pr proc ocee eeds ds to en enum umer erat atee her loved ones" memorabilia that she has decided to vouchsafe /ove for the female persona therefore is a co cons nsci ciou ouss ch choi oice ce,, a co cogni gniti tive ve ac actt no nott on only ly an affective one, a motif that recurs in various degrees in most of her other love poems
In the third stan'a, the persona explains the rationale behind h er action5 It)s utter sublimation sublimation A feat, this heart) heart)ss %ontrol %ontrol *oment to to moment moment +o s%ale all love do!n +o a %u""ed hand)s sie,
&he keyword here is sublimation, which in psychology is the deflection of sexual energy or othe ot herr at atav aviist stic ic bi biol olog ogiica call im impu pullse fro rom m its immediate goal to one of a higher social, moral or aesthetic nature or use In chemistry, on the other hand, sublimation is the process of transforming a soli so lid d su subs bsta tanc ncee by he heat at in into to a va vapo por, r, wh whic ich h on cool co olin ing g con conde dens nses es ag agai ain n to so soli lid d fo form rm wi with thout out apparent li$uefaction Inherent in both definitions is the act of refinement and purification through fire, since to sublimate in a sense is to make something sublim sub limee out of som someth ething ing sordid sordid In the latter latter a literal fire dissolves through a crucible the dross from the precious metal, while in the former it is furnace of the mind that burns away the superfluous from the crucial experiences &he se &he secon cond d mo most st im impor porta tant nt id idea ea in th this is stan'a is the procedure of scaling love down, which &iempo asserts is a feat by itself, an exceptional accomplishment of the female persona"s sentimental heart which is achieved through utmost discipline and restraint *ut aside from mere manageability, why is it necessary to miniaturi'e love, to whittle it down to the si'e of +a cupped hand? &he an &he answ swer er to th this is pe pert rtin inen entt $u $ues esti tion on is given, albeit in a tangential fashion, in the fourth and last stan'a5 +And life and love are real6 &hings you yo u ca can n ru run n an and6 d6 *r *rea eath thle less ss ha hand nd ove over6 r6 &o th thee merest mer est chi child ld /ov /ovee as +re +real al thi things ngs or conc concret retee ob.ects rather than as abstract concepts is easier to pass on, since it has ha s become more tangible and thus more mo re co comp mpre rehe hens nsib ible le to mo most st ev ever eryo yone ne el else se,, including children and one"s beloved offspring It also underscores the importance of be$ueathing the legacy of love to the next generation, since as the clich goes +children are the future of the world, which makes +the merest child, and not the wisest woman nor the strongest man, the ideal recipient of such a wonderful gift &he image of the cupped hand also emphasi'es the idea that in the act of giving givin g the one offe offering ring the be$uest is also a beggar
of sorts, since the beneficiary can always refuse to accept the heirlooms being proffered *ut another important element is introduced in th thee ul ulti tima mate te st stan an'a 'a,, fo forr th thee per perso sona na by so some me extraordina extrao rdinary ry leap of the imagination imagination percei perceives ves the seas se ashel hells ls on th thee bea beach ch as +br +brok oken en pi piec eces es66 (r (rom om )od" )o d"ss ow own n br brig ight ht te teet eth, h, wh whic ich h fo forr a be bett tter er understanding of +*onsai must be elaborated on, so that readers of 0hilippine poetry from nglish can fully appreciate the tight structural organi'ation of the poem )mino 4 Abad in his remarkable essay +%apping Our 0oetic &errain5 (ilipino 0oetry in nglish from =>8B to the 0resentCiiiD connects this image to the paradoxical lines of the second stan'a +for the moment ---6 And for all time, both &his reader cannot help but agree, since indeed the five fi ve ob ob.e .ect ctss me ment ntio ione ned d by th thee pe pers rson onaa be bein ing g mementoes of the people she loves are metonyms of memory mem ory,, sha shatte ttered red but shi shimm mmeri ering ng fra fragme gments nts of chronology gy,, cap ca ptured impor orttant mom omen entts immortali'ed in the heart and mind, if we are to visual vis uali'e i'e &ime &ime its itself elf as a man manife ifesta statio tion n of )od )od Of greater conse$uence, thought, is that this divine div ine fig figure ure com comple pletes tes &i &iemp empo" o"ss poe poetic tic pic pictur turee about love and remembrance by adding the spiritual deta de tail il,, fo forr lo love ve li like ke th thee un unme ment ntio iona nabl blee 4e 4ebr brew ew name of the Almighty is also a &etragrammaton, a four-letter word, which has probably engendered the often-$uoted adage that +)od is /ove, and /ove is )od !tructurally speaking, her most famous poem can thus be diagrammed in this manner5 +''S/B 0bonsai 1O2' - son) son)ss note, 3ad4s one $audy tie, et%. 5O3 0seashells *ANWO*AN *ANW O*AN -merest %hild
On the left side of the chart are the huge ob.e ob .ect ctss, co conc ncep epts ts or pe peop oplle5 ful ulll-s -sii'e fl flor oraa 1&ree6!hrub2, big abstract words 1/ove, )od2 and grow gr ownu nups ps 1%a %an6 n6W Woman an2 2 &he heiir mini mi niat atur uree analogues, in contrast, are found on the right side of the char chart t 4ow 4owever ever,, the these se dim diminu inutiv tivee par parall allels els,, especially the mementoes, retain the spirit of their larger lar ger ver versio sions, ns, sin since ce the pro proces cesss of sub sublim limati ation on reduc re duces es th thin ings gs on only ly in te term rmss of si si'e 'e but not in essence ;ltimately, this makes +*onsai the perfect title of the poem, for a bonsai has all the necessary parts that make a tree or a shrub what wha t it is5 roots, a
trunk,, br trunk bran anch ches es,, le leave avess an and d fl flow ower ers, s, al albei beitt in smaller portions9 in the same manner that love even if su subl blim imat ated ed by th thee he hear artt an and d th thee mi mind nd st stil illl preserves its sum and substance, its lifeblood in the truest sense of the written word and the word made flesh
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: =2 dith dit h / &i &iem empo po,, was bo born rn on Apr pril il EE, =>=> /ike 3ose )arcia Filla, she is known to be one of the best (ilipino writers in nglish &his poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic"s style are characteri'ed by a remarkable fusion of style and substance, subst ance, of craft craftsmans smanship hip and insig insight ht 4er use of the nglish lan ang guage has been marked as descriptive but unburdened by scrupulous detailing 4e r poems are intricate verbal trans tr ansfi figu gurat ratio ions ns of si sign gnif ific ican antt ex expe peri rien ences ces as revealed, in two of her much anthologi'ed pieces, +*onsai +*ons ai and +&he /itt /ittle le %armo %armoset set A number of herr po he poem emss we were re in incl clude uded d in bo books oks of co comp mpil iled ed poems like5 +&he &racks of *abylon and Other 0oem 0o emss an and d +& +&he he @h @har arm mer er""s *o *ox x an and d Ot Othe her r 0oems 4er wo 4er work rkss in fi ficti ction on we were re al also so mo mora rall lly y profound 4er published books include the novels +&he +& he Ali lien en @o @orn rn, , +&h +&hee GH
!he an !he and d he herr la late te hu husb sban and d d dil ilbe bert rto o &iempo are very influential in 0hilippine literature in nglish &hey founded and direct directed ed the !illiman !illiman => in *ayombong, L2, 1=>L2, His His Native Coast 1=>>2, 1=>>2, The Alien Corn 1=>>E2, Corn 1=>>E2, ne! Tilting Ti lting "eaves "eaves 1=>>B2 1=>>B2 and The Builde Builderr 1E88M29 the poetry collections, Th Thee Trac ac#s #s of Ba Baby bylo lon n an and d ther $oems 1=>GG2, $oems 1=>GG2, and The Charmer%s Bo& and the t herr $o $oem emss 1=>>M29 and the short story collection Abide! collection Abide! 'osua! and ther (tories )*++,-.
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