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A phrase from Ginsberg's poem:Correction 2

Posted by Smokey Stover on July 29, 2005

In Reply to: A phrase from Ginsberg's poem:Correction 2 posted by Kashima on July 29, 2005

: : : Hello! I am always thankful for your help.

: : : I found the following quotation from Allen Ginsberg's poem 'Song'(written in 1954) at a opening scene in a James Dean's biographical drama.

: : : yes, yes, that's what I wanted,
: : : I always wanted, I always wanted,
: : : to return to the body where I was born.

: : : I found the original poem at this site:
: : : plagiarist.com/ poetry/3757/
: : : but I am not sure what 'the body where I was born' means. Does it literally mean that the poet is longing for his mother's womb, or is he longing for a woman's
: : : love, or does he want to go back to the time where he was born?
: : : Thanks in advance.

: : : The warm bodies shine together in the darkness,
: : : the hand moves to the center of the flesh,
: : : the skin trembles in happiness
: : : and the soul comes joyful to the eye--

: : Sorry, I forgot to delete these phrases which comes right before the phrases in problem.
: : Excuse me.

: Sorry again, I mean,'the phrases in question'.

The thing about poetry is that it sometimes keeps you wondering, puzzling out the meaning or meanings. (That's why it's not prose.) While some poets are straightforward, many are not, and deliberately so. I'm no Ginsberg expert (not even a fan), and haven't read the whole poem, but your initial impression seems the likely one, that the author wishes to go back to the womb. However, I can easily believe that someone else might have a different interpretation. SS

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