The Poet Acts
Philip Glass Lyrics


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The poet acts like if there is no present,
the mind moves back and forth,
trying to distinguish simplicity.
There are no look backs nor verification,
the meaning it is not memorized:
there are no plans for composition.
Grammar gets lost in a valley.
Analysis perishes;
only truth is searched.
But what is truth really?
That cannot be determined.
Most of the poet acts walk near by the words love, freedom, sadness, melancholy and self-awareness;
while others
struggle to find the voice
that once seemed clear
and now is completely forgotten.
The poet battles his way out from an emotional highway,
with drastic turns,
endless yellow lights, highlighted speed limits,
altering what once was
a smooth and unstoppable drive.
The acts dissipate between thoughts that put in question
what started with inspiration.
The poet has no map and no guidelines.
The mind travels deep down,
searching for the unknown.
It might be even possible
that nothing would come back at all as the written word,
maybe the emotion does not get exposed and all becomes
a lying fact
waiting to be broken and scrutinized.
Truth happens by accident.
Our illusory world tricks us in thinking we did find meaning,
but life does not care
at all.
The poet acts, similar to pieces of paper, are there,
in plain sight,
waiting to be judge for their content,
even when there may be,




in blank pages,
nothing to tell…

Overall Meaning

In Philip Glass's song The Poet Acts, the lyrics convey the struggles and uncertainties that a poet faces while trying to create a masterpiece. The first verse of the song talks about the poet's dilemma of the present moment. The poet keeps moving back and forth in his mind trying to identify something simple to write about. However, there's no confirmation of what he's thinking, and he has no memorized plan to start composing. Grammar is lost in the valley, and there's no analysis, only the truth is sought. But what is the truth? This question remains unanswered, unsolved, and undefined. The poet acts walk near words like love, freedom, melancholy, and self-awareness, but he struggles to find the voice that seemed clear and now forgotten.


Line by Line Meaning

The poet acts like if there is no present,
The poet writes as if the present moment does not exist.


the mind moves back and forth,
The poet's thoughts oscillate between different ideas.


trying to distinguish simplicity.
The poet seeks to find simple truth in complex ideas.


There are no look backs nor verification,
The poet does not look back or check for accuracy.


the meaning it is not memorized:
The poet does not remember the meaning.


there are no plans for composition.
The poet does not plan the structure of the work.


Grammar gets lost in a valley.
The poet ignores grammar rules.


Analysis perishes;
The poet does not analyze their work.


only truth is searched.
The poet seeks only the truth.


But what is truth really?
The poet questions the true nature of truth.


That cannot be determined.
The poet believes truth is beyond understanding.


Most of the poet acts walk near by the words love, freedom, sadness, melancholy and self-awareness;
The majority of the poet's work explores themes of love, freedom, sadness, melancholy, and self-awareness.


while others struggle to find the voice that once seemed clear and now is completely forgotten.
Other works by the poet attempt to recapture a lost voice.


The poet battles his way out from an emotional highway, with drastic turns, endless yellow lights, highlighted speed limits, altering what once was a smooth and unstoppable drive.
The poet navigates a difficult emotional path, with obstacles that impede their progress.


The acts dissipate between thoughts that put in question what started with inspiration.
The poet's thoughts wane and fluctuate, leading them to doubt their initial inspiration.


The poet has no map and no guidelines.
The poet has no clear path or structure to follow.


The mind travels deep down, searching for the unknown.
The poet delves deep into their subconscious to uncover new ideas.


It might be even possible that nothing would come back at all as the written word, maybe the emotion does not get exposed and all becomes a lying fact waiting to be broken and scrutinized.
It is possible that the poet's emotional experiences may not be effectively conveyed in writing, leading to a false representation of their feelings.


Truth happens by accident.
The poet believes that truth is an accidental discovery.


Our illusory world tricks us in thinking we did find meaning, but life does not care at all.
The world often deceives us into thinking we have found meaning, but life does not actually care about our human conceptions of meaning.


The poet acts, similar to pieces of paper, are there, in plain sight, waiting to be judge for their content, even when there may be, in blank pages, nothing to tell…
The poet's works are present and visible, open to interpretation and criticism, even if some works are seemingly empty.




Writer(s): Philip Glass

Contributed by Christian E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Alan Bleier


on Kuru Field of Justice

I couldn't find them anywhere on the internet, so I'm posting them here:
(they are simply passages of the bhagavad-gita)

GHANDI:

yotsyamanan avekse 'ham ya ete 'tra samagatah
dhartarastrasya durbuddher yuddhe priya-cikirsavah

evam ukto hrsikeso gudakesena bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye sthapayitva rathottamam

(kirpaya parayavisto visidann idam abravit)

ARJUNA:

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah
prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-ceta

yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me
sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam

(kirpaya parayavisto visidann idam abravit)

KRISHNA:

atha cet tvam imam dharmyam sangramam na karisyasi
tatah sva-dharmam kirtim ca hitva papam avapsyasi

hato va prapsyasi svargam jitva va bhosyase mahim
tasmad uttistha kaunteya yuddhaya krta-niscayah

sukha-duhkhe same krtva labhalabhau jayajayau
tato yuddhaya yujyasva naivam papam avapsyasi

CHORUS:

tam tatha krpayavistam asru-purnakuleksanam
visidantam idam vakyam uvaca madhusudanah

kutas tva kasmalam idam visame samupasthitam
anarya-justam asvargyam ¡akirti-karam arjuna!

GHANDI:

sukha-duhkhe same krtva labhalabhau jayajayau
tato yuddhaya yujyasva naivam papam avapsyasi

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