Payton Griffin
4th Period
Daydreams for Ginsberg
I lie on my back at midnight
hearing the marvelous strange chime
of the clocks, and know it's mid-
night and in that instant the whole
world swims into sight for me
in the form of beautiful swarm-
ing m u t t a worlds-
everything is happening, shining
Buhudda-lands,
bhuti
blazing in faith, I know I'm
forever right & all's I got to
do (as I hear the ordinary
extant voices of ladies talking
in some kitchen at midnight
oilcloth cups of cocoa
cardore to mump the
rinnegain in his
darlin drain-) i will write
it, all the talk of the world
everywhere in this morning, leav-
ing open parentheses sections
for my own accompanying inner
thoughts-with roars of me
all brain-all world
roaring-vibrating-I put
it down, swiftly, 1,000 words
(of pages) compressed into one second
of time-I'll be long
robed & long gold haired in
the famous Greek afternoon
of some Greek City
Fame Immortal & they'll
have to find me where they find
the t h n u p f t of my
shroud bags flying
flag yagging Lucien
Midnight back in their
mouths-Gore Vidal'll
be amazed, annoyed-
my words'll be writ in gold
& preserved in libraries like
Finnegans Wake & Visions of Neal
As a Postmodern poet, Jack Kerouac was a strong cultural influence. During his years becoming a poet, he explains in his poems his strong feelings about religion. Growing up, Jack was raised in a Roman Catholic family. But then he decided to explore Buddhism, in which he found serenity. He immersed himself in Zen and began to think of his entire work as a "Divine Comedy of Buddha". This combined Eastern and Western traditions.
Kerouac was inspired by an author named James Joyce. He writes in this poem "my words'll be writ in gold & preserved in libraries like Finnegans Wake & Visions of Neal" (Dreams for Ginsberg, lines 40-43).
Poem Analysis
How To Meditate
-lights out-
fall, hands a-clasped, into instantaneous
ecstasy like a shot of heroin or morphine,
the gland inside of my brain discharging
the good glad fluid (Holy Fluid) as
i hap-down and hold all my body parts
down to a deadstop trance-Healing
all my sicknesses-erasing all-not
even the shred of a 'I-hope-you' or a
Loony Balloon left in it, but the mind
blank, serene, thoughtless. When a thought
comes a-springing from afar with its held-
forth figure of image, you spoof it out,
you spuff it off, you fake it, and
it fades, and thought never comes-and
with joy you realize for the first time
'thinking's just like not thinking-
So I don't have to think
any
more'
Bus East
Society has good intentions Bureaucracy is like a friend
5 years ago - other furies other losses -
America's
trying to control the uncontrollable Forest fires, Vice
The essential smile In the essential sleep Of the children Of the essential mind
I'm
all thru playing the American
Now I'm going to live a good quiet life
The
world should be built for foot walkers
Oily
rivers Of spiney Nevady
I
am Jake Cake
Rake
Write like Blake
The
horse is not pleased Sight of his
gorgeous finery
in the dust Its silken
nostrils
did disgust
Cats
arent kind Kiddies anent sweet
April
in Nevada - Investigating Dismal Cheyenne Where the war parties
In fields
of straw
Aimed over oxen At Indian Chiefs
In wild headdress Pouring thru
the gap
In Wyoming plain
To make the settlers
Eat more dust than dust
was eaten In the States From East at Seacoast Where wagons made up To dreadful
Plains
Of clazer vup
Saltry
settlers
Anxious to masturbate The Mongol Sea (I'm too tired in Cheyenne -
No sleep in 4 nights now, & 2 to go)
"How to Meditate" was likely written to explain the importance of religion and sexuality in our everyday lives.
Kerouac consturcted this poem to explain the process of meditation while including religious references.
People have deconstructed this poem to reveal that the real meaning of the poem is to explain masturbation.
Kerouac wrote this poem while on a bus traveling frm San Fransisco to New York. While on the bus, he writes about America and the problems taking place at the time. For example, the year was 1954, whic infers that Kerouac could be talking about events such as the Red Scare, or the post-World War II problems. He expresses his readiness to live a good life, writing "the world should be built for foot walkers oily rivers of spiney Nevady"(Kerouac, lines 12-15).
Works Cited
DharmaRealmBuddhist. "Buddhism and Postmodernism: Ideology and Alienation." YouTube. YouTube, 01 Nov. 2010. Web. 25 May 2016.
Hunter, Jack Kerouac - Poem. "Bus East Poem." Poemhunter.com. Web. 20 May 2016.
Hunter, Jack Kerouac - Poem. "Daydreams For Ginsberg Poem." Poemhunter.com. Web. 20 May 2016.
Hunter, Jack Kerouac - Poem. "How To Meditate Poem." Poemhunter.com. Web. 20 May 2016.
"Jack Kerouac." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 20 May 2016.
"The Portable Jack Kerouac." Bborba. 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 May 2016.
Weinreich, Regina. "Jack Kerouac." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 23 May 2016.
"Jack Kerouac Buddhism - Google Search." Jack Kerouac Buddhism - Google Search. Web. 23 May 2016.
"Jack Kerouac Bus East - Google Search." Jack Kerouac Bus East - Google Search. Web. 25 May 2016.