In the Forest

Summary The Buddha feels that he maybe nearing the end of his search for Enlightenment. He likens himself to the life cycle of a butterfly – he is the pupa – readying to break free of his constraints and fly like a butterfly. He can barely remember his past life/his parents. Yasodhara  a princess who married a prince at 16 (he was 19). They had one child when she was 29. He then left to search for Enlightenment. She was devastated but when she heard of his search she, too, searched. She met the Buddha and joined a Monastic Order of Nuns.

In the Forest Mood Again reflective Calm Incantatory Lyrical Movement Has an hypnotic undercurrent Generally balanced lines – again in two phrases that enhance the meaning of each other. Enjambment between verses. Clearly very Beveridge!!

In the Forest Images Juxtaposition of the gentle, soothing image of the lotus leaf = mother’s hands and the aggressive scorpion’s tail = father’s gesturing thumb. Central image of the Buddha sitting, watching, seeing, feeling. He bows to the praying mantis – he understands that the insect is doing what it should be doing. Feeling through this image of “waiting”. The recurrent motif of cycle occurs with the claim that insects “wait their cycles out more devoutly than moons”  seems rather a grandiose claim! Beveridge uses the minutiae of the insects again – a recurring motif/image in her poetry. The lightness of the insect’s wing reminds of also of the way she uses lightness and heaviness. The insects are all describe with careful precision – the “praying mantis strokes the air” and “a grasshopper on a blade of grass”.  this precision focuses the mind on the now.

In the Forest Deeper Significance He has sat for so long in the forest  is the forest symbolic of darkness and confusion  he is searching for a way out? Things are hidden in the forest – we have to search for them through the undergrowth (the veneer?) The “sometimes” questions when is memory triggered. Images do not always trigger memory. Does he work at leaving memory to the past? In his search he has to uncover many layers – he needs to see past the veneer – beneath the lacquer. There is an intense necessity to be aware of the senses – how are we reacting to the moment – just as the grasshopper feels through its knees – so our whole body must be aware. We must operate at the sensual level of an insect  aware of our fragility and yet so aware of the slightest movement that we become connected to all around us. It is not enough to just watch and see  we must feel. The sense that the search is almost over is suggested by “if I’ll ever wake”  sensing that he will one day. He also knows that when he wakes he will feel connected and understand that “everything connects.”