Where is my soul

Where is my soul

A Poem by Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere
"

What is a soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room. Ray Charles

"




















Where then, can I find my soul?

Is it indissolubly connected with my life

or does it swim with my blood

in the flood through my veins?

 

What if I cut myself and lose a part?

 

Or do I have to search inside my head

in the sparkles between the synapses

along the axons and the dendrites?

 

And if I forget, one day

shall my soul also disappear?

 

Will I dissect my heart

slice pieces of it

watch them with a magnifying glass

if I can see all those feelings,

or if my joy is baked in the wall of it,

if I hear it on the beat all the tears and the sorrow?

 

What if my heart suddenly stops,

is this also the end of my soul?

 

Just to be sure I’ll go somewhat deeper

till I meet the smallest cell and then still a bit further,

maybe I see in my genes

why I’m afraid of death,

and frightened to live fully my life?

 

Can I read in my amino acids

What brings the day of tomorrow?

 

I’ve still so many ways to go,

so much to travel, stand still for a while,

so many questions which haunt my mind

why am I born in this body

why am I thinking this?

 

© Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

18/04/2015

© 2015 Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere


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Featured Review

I just 'discovered' this-- I quite like its tone, and some of the lines work very well: '...joy...baked.. in the wall', 'heart stops.. end of my soul'. And you posit a universal question that seems to afflict many: why do people fear both death and life?
I think I sense a certain hesitancy in your lines-- perhaps because English is your 2nd language (though you are more fluent than most native speakers). And I think it might have been interesting to start the poem with the last two lines, but maybe I'm wrong.
As a young man 45 years ago I 'experienced' my soul when I almost drowned and had what 's come to be known as an NDE, or near-death experience. (The curious thing is that the soul --when it's conscious of itself, exists in the moment, without beginning or end-- just as our 'mortal' consciousness does-- we can't remember being born so it seems like we've always been alive. Of course, we 'know' we're going to die, but who really believes that?

Posted 8 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

8 Years Ago

Thank you for this review and your thought about 'the soul'. Means a great deal to me. :) Rudi



Reviews

hmmm...philosophical. you have feed my thoughts and mandated me awaken pondering!!!

Posted 9 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

Thank you very much, Udeokechukwu. :) Rudi
Rudi: What another fabulous poem. Great questioning. We all came from stardust, or so I hear and that we exist with all the solar systems, billions and millions of other planets like ours is phenomenal; so the soul, the quote from R.C. is profound, like your questions. I like the way you write about the smallest cells, like a leptone, searching for what we cannot see. It just is. Beautiful, and intriguing. Dale

Posted 9 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

Thank you, Dale, for your kind remarks. Glad you liked this poem too. Have a good day, my friend. :.. read more
Confuser

9 Years Ago

You're welcome; my pleasure, truly remarkable!
This is a fantastic piece that i think most of us ask !! The Imagery you create of looking deeper into yourself is brilliant. Also love the last line "why am i thinking this?" its a perfect ending a question with a question and of course it starts the thinking over again.
Great write :)

Posted 9 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

Thank you, Sereena. Glad you liked this poem too. Indeed, it's a question most of us ask at some poi.. read more
sereenaoutloud

9 Years Ago

yes i agree, i am not in a hurry to experience it either ... lol but yes curious as to what it truly.. read more
Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

indeed, :)
A fantastic piece of sheer beauty and wisdom. I absolutely love the idea and the beautiful construction. A masterpiece dear Rudi :)

Posted 9 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

Thank you so much, Ana. I'm glad I can touch people with my thoughts. I think it's also a subjectread more
A very good piece of work, Rudi. I have to admit, I never thought I was keen on poetry, but having read yours and James' today, I will be sure not to be such a philistine, ha.

Your contemplative and philosophical pondering on the existentialism of life in the poem was really rather profound. In addition, I especially like your use of scientific words, and as a former student of psychology, I must say that it resonated with me quite a bit!

Keep up your good work.

Posted 9 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

Thank you, John, I'm glad you like it. Being a father of a civil engineer, a bio-engineer and a phys.. read more
Such a creative pondering of the soul: its consistency and purpose. I wonder how many sit and wonder the same thing? I have... hundreds of times. Some believe it belongs to God and we simply borrow it; others believe the soul starts it's journey and lives for centuries, hopping out of the dying and into the newborn; others believe it is nothing, and that once we are gone, it (whatever it is) goes too. But, whatever it is or isn't, I know this, we have a physical state, a mental state and then that other state which we can never figure out. Perhaps it's a combination of the mental and physical... I love delving into these questions and you have cause me to pause and think this afternoon, Rudi, and now I must pour some tea and think a while longer.

Posted 9 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

This is a wonderful review, FT. I like it when I can let people start thinking about the subjects of.. read more
Really nice piece of work, very thought provoking!
You raise several questions that are asked by several
young people adults also but young people have vast
imaginations as you know:) I enjoyed the read, thanks for
sharing and b-blessed!

Posted 9 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

9 Years Ago

Thanks, James, glad if I can make people think about the things I write. Have a good day. :) Rudi

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764 Views
17 Reviews
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Added on April 18, 2015
Last Updated on April 19, 2015
Tags: soul, head, heart, genes, dead

Author

Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere
Rudi J.P. Lejaeghere

Wingene, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium



About
I'm from Belgium. English is not my native language, but I like to read English poems and books. I have written a lot of Dutch poems during the last forty years. With some of them I've got prizes in B.. more..

Writing

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