Tuesday, August 10, 2004

The flicker of a moment in time

Seems all quiet on the blogging front these days... haven't had many comments lately... perhaps I need to advertise =) I just wrote this instead of doing work like I'd planned - I just needed to get it down 'cause I was "in the zone" - I'm sure you creative people know what I'm talking about. I'd be keen to hear some interpretations of what it all means and stuff... I quite like some of the imagery...
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Life is the flicker of a moment in time
Like the snap of a camera,
Flash before your eyes
Many faces, places hastening to slide
Like shimmering shadows in the light

Now echoes of teardrops trickle from the past
And faintly paint a memory of times that didn't last
But the colour soon fades as the shadows play
On the candle flickering away

What can I do, while the wax still burns?
Before attacking history obliterates my turn?
Can this one flame ever create from the ashes
The echo of a diamond in the minds of the masses?
For crashes of the shadows so hastening to die
          are captured by the flicker of a moment in time.

3 comments:

Notions Incognito said...

How about a comment people? Huh?

M Ronayne said...

Wow - why can't I be half as talented as you?

Seriously man, that's some awesome imagery. You have a real gift going there.

You can get a real sense of "significance" out of the first line. The whole first verse in fact reinforces the point that life is just a blink in eternity. The dichotomy between how Christians and non-Christians relate to that is interesting.

Non-Christians would be disillusioned about how short their lives are in respect to everythign else. Christians on the other hand have the opportunity to revel in it :) "Woohoo! Less time before I get to meet God and spend an eternity with him and all the other Christians!"

I am a bit confused as to the meaning of the second verse. I'm not seeing it relate to the first one in any significant way. Somewhat regretful about missed opportunities and past hurts. The candle might be an analogy for your a person's life? A candle has only a set amount of time it can burn for. And as it burns, it loses part of itself until there is nothing left but the stub.

This idea works quite well into verse 3.
"what can I do while the wax still burns?" is a question about how best to use your time on this planet - "before attacking history obliterates my turn".

The last 4 lines are really a question. Is it possible to turn your charred self into something even remotely resembling something as beautiful as a diamond with all things in the world working against you? Is it possible to make yourself like that when you are limited by how much time you have here on earth?

It's a beautiful song.... I hope someday to hear it :)

Michelle said...

hey wow... thats really lovely Reuben =) me likie! i dont know how everyone manages to pull so much awesome poetry and song-age out all the time, but you guys are amazing =) go creativity!