Venice masks

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

You who want - Hadewijch

You who want
knowledge,
seek the Oneness
within.

There you
will find
the clear mirror
already waiting.
Hadewijch (13th century) The Netherlands
Translated by Jane Hirschfield
Posted by Bruce-the-Sheep at 18:17

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous13 September 2015 at 16:28

    I need a better understanding about this poem

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bruce-the-Sheep14 September 2015 at 08:28

    Thanks for your comment. Here's my view on the poem.

    1. On the surface it's about seeking to know the world by first knowing yourself: the "clear mirror" is the reflection of who you really are when you take the time to look inside, i.e. "seek the Oneness within."

    2. It can also be seen as a religious poem. The fact that Oneness has a capital O could be seen as a reference to the Oneness of God (in the Christian sense - the poet was Christian mystic, so this is entirely possible). So she's saying that true knowledge can only emanate from seeking God, and that you can only truly know God by seeking Him within yourself. There is a reference here to man being in the image of God (i.e. reflected in the mirror).

    I hope that helps.

    ReplyDelete

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