Poetry Response : Lateralus by Tool (Maynard James Keenan)

 Lateralus by Tool is a fascinating work that turned me on to the band as soon as I'd heard it.  Though the music is phenomenal, my appreciation for the band is the deeply poetic nature of their lyrics.  This song, in particular, well demonstrates the kind of unique experimentation the band is famous for.  The imagery and message aside, the really fascinating part of this poem is how the phrasing is arranged by number of syllables to adhere to the Fibonacci sequence of numbers that form the classic spiral of exponential increase found in nature (among other number sequences they've used) and that this concept is actually central to the message of the poem.  To illustrate this, I've taken the lyrics and arranged them as they are emphasized in the number of syllables per line, numbering them to better show the sequence.  Apart from haiku I see very few poems with this this kind of intentional syllable arrangement, and it's definitely something I'd like to try for myself.

 

1)  Black 

1)  then 

2)  white are 

3)  all I see 

5)  in my infancy.
8)  red and yellow then came to be, 

5)  reaching out to me.
3)  lets me see.

13)  As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
8)  drawn beyond the lines of reason.
5)  Push the envelope. 

3)  Watch it bend.

Over thinking, 

over analyzing 

separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, 

missing opportunities 

and I must
Feed my will 

to feel my moment 

drawing way outside the lines.

1)  Black 

1)  then 

2)  white are

3)  all I see 

5)  in my infancy.
8)  red and yellow then came to be, 

5)  reaching out to me.
3)  lets me see 

2)  there is

1)  so 

1)  much 

2)  more and 

3)  beckons me 

5)  to look through to these 

8)  infinite possibilities.
13)  As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
8)  drawn outside the lines of reason.
5)  Push the envelope. 

3)  Watch it bend.

4)  Over thinking, 

6)  over analyzing 

9)  separates the body from the mind.
8)  Withering my intuition, 

7)  missing opportunities 

3)  and I must

3)  Feed my will 

5)  to feel my moment 

7)  urging me to cross the line.

9)  Reaching out to embrace the random.
11)  Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

4)  I embrace my 

4)  desire to

3)  embrace my

4)  desire to
5)  feel the rhythm, to 

4)  feel connected
7)  enough to step aside and 

6)  weep like a widow to 

5)  feel inspired, to 

6)  fathom the power, to 

6)  witness the beauty, to 

6)  bathe in the fountain, to 

6)  swing on the spiral
7)  of our divinity and 

5)  still be a human.

8)  And with my feet upon the ground 

8)  I lose myself between the sounds 

8)  and open wide to suck it in,
8)  I feel it move across my skin.
8)  I'm reaching up and reaching out,
8)  I'm reaching for the random or 

8)  what ever will bewilder me

8)  what ever will bewilder me.

8)  And following our will and wind 

8)  we may just go where no one's been.
8)  We'll ride the spiral to the end 

8)  and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going, going...