Of Caves and Dreams

Posted on May 22, 2018 by John Biscello

Molten,

these dreams run,

hot,

then cold,

I, in turn,

shift to watch the shadows,

balletic ink

dancing and lengthening

on prehistoric cave walls,

and decide that Plato was wrong–

We do not mistake

shadows for reality,

but rather, ourselves,

for set projections,

losing true sight

of the multi-storied dreamlife

that escapes us

daily.

About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, writer, poet, performer, and playwright, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of four novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, and No Man’s Brooklyn; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His produced, full-length plays include: LOBSTERS ON ICE, ADAGIO FOR STRAYS, THE BEST MEDICINE, ZEITGEIST, U.S.A., and WEREWOLVES DON’T WALTZ.

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This entry was posted in Poetry, Uncategorized and tagged caves, dreams, existence, John Biscello, Plato, Plato's theory of the cave, poem, Poetry, shadows. Bookmark the permalink.

6 Responses to Of Caves and Dreams

bunsareallthatyourequirehere says:

May 22, 2018 at 11:03 am

This is some seriously impressive writing.

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Nitin says:

May 22, 2018 at 11:05 am

Plato was wrong. Even if you intended this to be a post about self-indulgence and decided to create an analogy of sorts, the allegory of the cave is a myth. The only philosopher who got it right was Kierkegaard. Man isn’t free and can never be free. Well written though.

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- John Biscello says:
  
  May 22, 2018 at 11:09 am
  
  Thanks. I actually love Plato’s theory of the cave, and find a lot mythical richness in it, and what it implies. As for absolutes about which philosophers got it “right,” and about ultimate freedom that may or may not be available to we, humans, I have no set or fixed opinion. Just here spelunking and exploring. Thanks for reading.
  
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  - Nitin says:
    
    May 22, 2018 at 11:23 am
    
    Well I wasn’t saying Kierkegaard’s perfect or talking in terms of absolutes when it came to philosophers. Since man is finite, there is no perfection in anything he says. I only meant that existentialism or let’s go further and say that the Calvinistic doctrine of Total depravity has credibility. We make complex moral decisions at 3 like Chomsky puts it and like he also does, it only means morality is innate, which in turn means that you’re not free to do as you please, which is the whole foundation of Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. Also despair is a part of the human condition. And nobody can deny that at least some despair is self-induced which brings us to sin. So transcendence and then coming back to the cave is only rich in its mythical significance. For me at least. So that’s brings us to the ultimate question: God who is best not discussed! I hope my comment didn’t offend you. I just wanted to facilitate discussion. And thank you.
    
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  - John Biscello says:
    
    May 22, 2018 at 11:30 am
    
    No, my friend, not offended, and to be perfectly honest with you, I have not read any Kierkegaard, nor Chomsky, and probably plenty of the other philsoophical heavies, so you’ve got me there 🙂 But I dig the track-work of your brain, its associative leaps, so dropping lines on my dime, totally cool. Flow on, brother.
    
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erroneouschoices says:

May 22, 2018 at 1:01 pm

Another brilliant philosophical musing embedded into your beautiful framework of poetic tune.

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