I found a poem I wrote many years ago in college and thought it was worth sharing. It’s called a “concrete” poem and I had written it for an English literature class:
The Only Grail
Truth knows solace in the frailty of lies,
Truth, being of nature, requires no disguise,
Truth walks freely in the great halls of fate,
For only in truth, can we all relate.
Ego sum Veritas,
I seek to better this world.
Not for I,
Not for you,
Not for any one,
But for all.
For only in truth, can we all relate.
You’ll notice the poem itself is in the shape of a chalice (i.e. “concrete”), namely the “holy grail” Jesus supposedly drank from at his “last supper” in Christian theology, which gives sought-after powers to the drinker in Arthurian legend. The grail is symbolic for an ultimate pursuit (i.e. “the quest for the holy grail”), where the poem implies the ultimate pursuit is one of truth and “only” of truth, meaning other grail quests inevitably prove to be camouflaged lies.
The Latin phrase means “I am the truth.” I remember this being intended as a hidden message where the reader can’t know who’s actually speaking the words until they translate the dead language, only to find out it’s truth itself (personified) speaking the words.
It also conveys that truth is ultimately what all of us can relate to; that truth patiently finds solace in the frailty of lies and will endure while lies crumble around it in time. The implication being that if we diligently pursue truth, we’ll find a lasting common ground eventually.
I feel this poem is very relevant today – there’s so many lies and so much misinformation out there; so many ways we can be wrong. I’m glad I found this old assignment because I think it applies to me just as much as anyone else. It reminded me that I’ve outlined this grandiose desire here to reverse engineer the Universe, but I need to stay mindful of my own thinking and whether the truths I’m espousing are real or just another grail quest…