Jenni asks:
1. Where did you get your blog's name from?
2. How is it representative of your life, personality, or writing?
3. If you had to change the name of your bog, what would be an alternative title?
And I say:
- I was thinking about writing on
water, the impermanence, the ephemeral quality of all writing.
I saw the mineral line on a crystal water glass; all that was left of the water that once filled it.
I thought of the high-water line on a coastal cliff, or the tide line on a sandy beach (that line my dog would not cross; though she loved the beach, she hated wet feet.)
I thought of my tiny garden pond, the goldfish, and the verb to ponder.
- All of the above.
- This is difficult. Pool, perhaps?
I did not think of a distinguishing mark impressed on paper during manufacture; visible when paper is held up to the light until searches for that began to appear in my stats. Still, since such search results specify Watermark, A Poet's Notebook, I have to assume that those who come here from there do not really expect to find images or technical assistance.
Until I found the earth and moon images, the goldfish photograph above anchored this sidebar. This was, perhaps, more apt, but I love seeing our planet each time I come to my site. And it is, in a way, the same concept -- don't you think?
I have been thinking about names, and naming, quite a lot recently; that talent and task we used to reserve, along with tool- making, for ourselves among animals -- and can no longer.
Both my first and last names were given to me by my father, and are not loved. Many times during my life I have considered changing them, and find myself again doing so. This seems both frivolous and significant, at once.
My father's mother's last name was Bina. I never knew her; she died when my father was a child. I've always been drawn to the name, and now I have learned what it means [thanks to someone, I don't remember who]:
Czech (Bína): from a variant of Ben, a short form of the personal Benedikt (Latin Benedictus meaning ‘blessed’)
I have also always liked the name Sophia, which I learn is from the Greek word meaning wisdom, and a web search finds this page, which lists Sophie and Sophia in various languages, and includes: Hebrew**† Bina.
[This site also has a very cool error page.]
A search for Sophia Bina brings up this page on The Gender of God:
Yet the masculinity of the scriptural God in these three traditions was not complete, and at times, especially in mysticism, we find corrective traces of feminine aspects as well as a more explicit emphasis on the non anthropomorphic, formless nature of divinity . . . For example Wisdom literature can be found in the first century in the Hellenistic centre of Alexandria which had an important Jewish community. In the Wisdom of Salomon, a Jewish book written in Greek, she is Sophia, a personified aspect of God :
".. the breath of the power of god, pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; hence nothing impure can find a way into her. She is a reflection of the eternal light, untarnished mirror of God's active power, image of his goodness". Later this positive connotation of God's wisdom as Sophia will be corrected in the prevalently negative perception by the Gnostics of the second century who in their mythology saw evil and the world of matter as a result of Sophia's desire for independence.
The Rabbinic tradition also helped bridging the gap with a transcendental deity and they recorded in their literature their experience of God as an intimate presence . . . The last of these is called Shekinah. . The term has been rendered as "Divine Presence",(from the verb to dwell) it is also called the Queen and it is the main direct channel between the divine and non divine worlds. In the Bible the Shekinah is neutral, it does not have a specific gender, but in the Qabbalah she is distinctively feminine . . . Notice that the higher intellectual aspect of divinity, bina (understanding as a process of discriminative reason) is feminine! Bina is in fact called "The supernal Mother" and it is her womb that is penetrated by a dark flame to give birth to the lower Sefiroth.. Interestingly the feminine element is also associated in this mythology with Rigorous Judgement and the manifestation of Pure Mercy is masculine, a seeming inversion of what we would expect. This system underlies a psychologically healthier attitude than traditional monotheism.
Now, I ask you, would you rather be a Wisdom-Blessed Goddess, a reflection of the eternal light, the higher intellectual
aspect of divinity, or a plain shoe?
Of course, there is always the question of whether our names should
reflect who we are, or who we wish to be. You may notice that this name
has the advantage, to me, of consistency with the only nickname I have
ever had, SB, or Ms. B.
I don't really see myself marching to the courthouse, putting down money, and changing my name. But it does continue to haunt me, this idea of choosing for myself, naming myself.
ADDITION 12 March 02005: There is an interesting discussion of naming here.
Actually, I thought immediantly of the watermark on a piece of fine paper. Somehow, writing poetry on a fine sheet of paper seems an appropriate image for what I imagine you to be doing. The images you bring up are very interesting. Far more animist, tied to the natrual world.
As to names and naming, an interesting challenge! I've always liked my name -- Kenneth is gaelic for "handsome leader." Of course, that is a bit much to live up to!
Posted by: Ken | 27 February 2005 at 08:58 PM
I read one of your pieces I don't remember the name but it was good. But to me it seems like I'd never need to read another. Poerty surely is not a commecal art.
B
Posted by: Bobby | 02 March 2005 at 09:19 AM