bmobasco has it pretty much sown up. But there are a couple of things I'd like to point out:
"I got a weak heart, so I've heard.
I wouldn't know because it hasn't said a word.
All the winters, not a sound.
It probably never had a chance to thaw out.
You don't touch what you want to survive.
So this distance is keeping me alive
Until the ones that have loved me are dead,
I will hold my breath and pray that my aim is true. "
I think in the beginning, the narrator is explaining how he used to be sensitive to the feelings and tragedies of the world, but has slowly become desensitized to them.
Maybe he had a bad experience with a significant other, causing his heart to grow cold.
In the middle section of the stanza, I feel like he's referring to humanity as a whole.
Human beings are a very destructive force as seen with the various environmental disasters occurring all around the world and the consumption of resources. We're literally born to procreate, consume, and die. The narrator is applying this fact to even the people we love, that even if we care about them, we still destroy them in the end. Finishing up the stanza, it seems like he's embracing his basic purpose, maybe even a little bitterly, and praying that his aim is true.
"Maybe the flesh will have its day.
Maybe the meaning will not get in the way."
The first few lines are fairly simple. He's referring to true nature of relationships and his desensitization to them. Life in existential terms is a search for purpose and meaning to find a reason for existence. The narrator doesn't care about that anymore and simply wants to fulfill his basic physical desires.
"I only marvel at existence in the language existence permits.
Most hearts make terrible sounds, so I laugh.
An army of images stalks the land in search of ideas.
I am struck only when I think to step back"
Even though we've learned to communicate through speech and expression, he still feels limited in the basic humanistic understanding of existence.
The last two lines refer to human identity only existing within the realm of human consciousness. Everyone has an image of themselves or one they try to portray outwardly. With all of this pushing and pulling within humanity, the narrator is only enlightened when he steps back from the imposed structures of society and accepted behavior, to peer through the veils we've created and see what we truly are.
bmobasco has it pretty much sown up. But there are a couple of things I'd like to point out:
"I got a weak heart, so I've heard. I wouldn't know because it hasn't said a word. All the winters, not a sound. It probably never had a chance to thaw out. You don't touch what you want to survive. So this distance is keeping me alive Until the ones that have loved me are dead, I will hold my breath and pray that my aim is true. "
I think in the beginning, the narrator is explaining how he used to be sensitive to the feelings and tragedies of the world, but has slowly become desensitized to them. Maybe he had a bad experience with a significant other, causing his heart to grow cold. In the middle section of the stanza, I feel like he's referring to humanity as a whole. Human beings are a very destructive force as seen with the various environmental disasters occurring all around the world and the consumption of resources. We're literally born to procreate, consume, and die. The narrator is applying this fact to even the people we love, that even if we care about them, we still destroy them in the end. Finishing up the stanza, it seems like he's embracing his basic purpose, maybe even a little bitterly, and praying that his aim is true.
"Maybe the flesh will have its day. Maybe the meaning will not get in the way."
The first few lines are fairly simple. He's referring to true nature of relationships and his desensitization to them. Life in existential terms is a search for purpose and meaning to find a reason for existence. The narrator doesn't care about that anymore and simply wants to fulfill his basic physical desires.
"I only marvel at existence in the language existence permits. Most hearts make terrible sounds, so I laugh. An army of images stalks the land in search of ideas. I am struck only when I think to step back"
Even though we've learned to communicate through speech and expression, he still feels limited in the basic humanistic understanding of existence. The last two lines refer to human identity only existing within the realm of human consciousness. Everyone has an image of themselves or one they try to portray outwardly. With all of this pushing and pulling within humanity, the narrator is only enlightened when he steps back from the imposed structures of society and accepted behavior, to peer through the veils we've created and see what we truly are.
Atleast. thats my interpretation.