Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Tongue Fashion" by Aimé Césaire is a poem that dives into the realm of language, memory, and the natural world, presenting a vivid landscape where the sacred and the profane, the profound and the mundane, coexist and intermingle. Césaire, renowned for his command over imagery and symbolism, crafts a space where the act of communication and the exploration of the self become an intricate dance with the elements, the insects, and the cosmos.

The opening terms, "keystone" and "hieroglyphs," immediately situate the reader in a realm of foundational structures and ancient, cryptic languages, suggesting that the poem itself may serve as a primary element or a cipher to understanding a larger, hidden truth. The invitation to "forget the abolished constellation / never recompressed the infinite combinatory" encourages a departure from the fixed and the known, urging an embrace of the boundless potentialities of imagination and expression.

Césaire's assertion that "the nucleus speaks / error impossible / errancy difficult" reflects a confidence in the inherent order and truth at the core of existence, a rejection of the notion of mistake or misdirection in the pursuit of understanding. This contrasts with the imagery of "the directional rattle hangs from the trees / within reach of anyone," which suggests that guidance and wisdom are accessible to all, yet require active engagement and discernment to be fully grasped.

The poem then transitions into a description of the "sacred territory reluctantly conceded by the leaves," evoking a sense of conquest over or negotiation with the natural world, to carve out a space for human contemplation and activity. This territory, however, is not without its challenges, as indicated by the "travel observations" that follow.

The mention of "vermin / an ordinary amount of flies / an obsessive kiss of cockroaches" introduces a sense of discomfort and invasion, a reminder of the relentless presence of nature in its most persistent and often unwelcome forms. Yet, there's a beauty in this persistence, mirrored in the "army of moons launching waves of attacks / against who knows what monkeys," an image that captures the eternal struggle and dance of predator and prey, light and shadow.

The caution against indulging "in breaks" amidst the "chaos of stupefied insects" and the "velvet of the detour" warns against complacency and the allure of distraction in one's journey through life. This landscape is both a literal and metaphorical puddle, a place of reflection and potential stagnation, demanding continuous movement and exploration.

"Tongue Fashion" is a complex tapestry of images and ideas, weaving together the tangible and the abstract, the celestial and the terrestrial. Through this poem, Césaire invites readers to reconsider their relationship with language, nature, and the act of observation itself, urging an embrace of the world in all its multifaceted, sometimes unsettling, beauty. It's a reminder of the power of poetry to fashion tongues, to shape our understanding of the world and our place within it, through the meticulous choice and arrangement of words.

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