Comment 26 of 26, added on May 11th, 2008 at 3:11 AM.

I burst into tears when i first read this poem. So sad!

Deborah from United States

Comment 24 of 26, added on May 17th, 2007 at 5:58 AM.

A hundred individuals could read "What Lips ... " , and there'd be a hundred perspectives , and probably ,at least , half as many interpretations . Surely , many would appreciate the insightfullness , depth , and "suggested" abject finality that is , at once , an expression of both unearthly joy and all too earthly pain . Personally , from a metaphysical view , I find the expression to be very much an introspective , "open-ended" , loving of current Self , fully as much as the perceivable (and acknowledged) "timely loss of others" ... a reflection , in addition to a grasping recognition , which has resulted in a "letting go" .
Not to wax esoteric in the extreme , but , for any student of the physical sciences , there is the suggestion of a "mind / brain" interface (contemporary ref range from W.Penfield to S. Grof) . Though by no means an expert on the poet , I do dearly enjoy her poetic openness as offerings ; these a product of her unfettered creative and expansive mind .
As far as I'm able to ascertain , she was prone to a certain moodiness , in addition to use of at least one chemical substance which can further alter both perception and mood . These may have proved somewhat "dulling" in later years , but , I believe , not at the time of this writing . Despite what some may consider with regard to the aforementioned , I , nevertheless , find this sonnet to be both brilliant in presentation , and ever so touching in emotionality .
So many times at autopsy , I've held the roughly three and one half pounds of tissue that comprise the human brain in my hands , and wondered as to it's collective sensory input , and complex data processing as demanded during life ; and yet somehow come to know same as an empty vessel of sorts . As marvelously complex an organ as the human brain happens to be , somehow I've managed to make a distinction between the physically concrete , and the mentally ethereal . As fact , we all are susceptible to tangible influences upon the brain such as physical or chemical insult . As an opinion , there is a separate and distinct conscious / spiritual aspect which interfaces with the brain . To what extent these factors influenced the poet and this sonnet are open to individual conjecture . Though some would disagree , my feeling is that such influences , at this time , are nil .
At this point , my obvious opinion is that the poet was beautifully gifted in the spiritual realm of creativity and sensitivity , and that "What Lips My Lips Have Kissed ... " is not to be viewed as any hopeless and despairing expression of a "life wasted" , "lost" , and tearfully unrecallable , but rather a recognition , an acceptance , a "loosening of spirit" , and a "letting go" . ESVM's "emerging thought" and sentiment were captured wonderfully , and expressed so succinctly , at the time of this composition . Perhaps a few days prior , or a day or two later , and "What Lips ... " may have never been . That would have been such a loss indeed .
Thankfully , walt


walt m wally martin from United States