Mirror Mirroring a Mirroring Mirror

A visual image coupled with musing on self-referencing loops and their likeness to the illusion of a soul, inspired by Douglas Hofstadter's I Am a Strange Loop.

Thoughtless, the passing of objects in hold

did align the bodies to frame a tip

for tumbling to unreturn. Thus behold

so severely stumbled, so simple slip

into infinity. O wondrous breach,

what illusioned descent you might entice,

into constant chasm just yonder reach.

You are not once infinity but twice!

More like me than my reflection by far,

we are perpetual self allusion

circumscribed within self: a loop bizarre.

Perchance I, as you, am but illusion.

You’re a simile miming the soul

self within self, mirage between each whole.

Reviews

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Vain Apocalypse,

A very interesting poem. I think the begining of the poem is a bit difficult to follow, but the second half of the poem shows clarity of thought. Now to the premise of the poem. I greatly enjoyed GEB by Hofstadter. And I too, like so many, missed his main message that was made clear in his second book. Having a brain that is self-referential is interesting and an important part of intelligence--any one versed in neural networks will tell you that feed-back (a more general concept than being self-referential) is important to the performance of the network. However this is insufficient for intelligence, and so in my estimation Hofstadter falls short. The ability to generalize is the key--this is well know in the field. The ability to generalize is bestowed by imposing minimum complexity on the system. This is a concept that is generally lacking in the field of neural networks, but one that is not lost on the operating principles of the brain, with neural synapses using chemical transmitters to reduce the information carrying capacity of adjacent neurons.

An intriguing write, my friend. I think you've done Hofstadter's work justice by your write, and your poem inspires one to think further and deeper in these areas.

High marks! Greatly enjoyed.

Very best regards,

Rick

[zer0]

This is very impressive work. Effective use of enjambment and run on sentences, it gives the poem the appearance of spontaneity. It also seems to convey(to me at least) a hint of disjunction that is artfully contrasted with the consistent, rhythmic structure. I like the choice of language; the occasional peppering of lines with middle-English terms like “O” and “yonder”. The use of ambiguous, cryptic metaphor to veil meaning and promote polysemy is also very well done.
I look forward to reading more of your work and thank you for the comments you have left on mine as well.

[Succubi]

wow you really show some talent in this writing. the metaphors you use are really phenomenal and your words play was terrific. Great piece here =)

[MoonlitAngel]

Sounds mysterious. It flows vewry well. Good write.

--Blood

[Sophie]

Wow, I may have gotten lost in this poem. It is definitely an amazing piece of writing.
Your old English is well written.

"O wondrous breach,
what illusioned descent you might entice,
into constant chasm just yonder reach."

That was definitely my favorite part. Great job.

[Xyve rrg]

I felt enclosed in an atmosphere of mystery and ambiguity... enigmatic... Even the form of the poem, unfinished line continuing to the next, seems similar to the "bizarre loop", like the reflection bouncing between two mirrors... I dunno if it's just me or you did it on purpose...
It is a queer subject (puzzling and very abstract) to take but you transmuted it into poetry beautifully.

[Marlena]

Wonderfully written, I love this, sounds old and cryptic. :D

[Donni]

We are perpetual self allusion
circumscribed within self: a loop bizarre.
Perchance I, as you, am but illusion.
My favorite lines. I like the use of Old English.
Great Read!

[[untitled]]

I'm slowly becoming a fan of your talent. I love the symmetrical flow and ease of your work. When I read this I think of standing in front of the mirror in my mother's living room and behind me another mirror is mounted on the opposite wall. I can see a never-ending illusion of myself within the mirror, what seems like infinity. You take it much deeper than a visual mirage but a delve into one's soul. I can't pick a favorite line or phrase, it's all good to me. I love the tongue-twister title. Nice job.

[deeps]

I get the feeling this is about self images and judgment calls upon souls. I can feel the words
caressing the inside. Well written write of a universe of tainted vision. If i am wrong I am sorry
I read into this the wrong way. WHo knows how my mind sees things. I like it, it apined a vision
withn my mind. Wonderful write.