When I was in high school I had to put together a collection of 10 poems. Since I thought I rather enjoyed poetry at the time and had an appreciation for the depth that comes with its native obscurity, I put together a collection of poems that were each unique and good to read.
In the process I came across a book of poems by Bob Dylan, and read through several, eventually coming to this line near the end of one of his poems:
“your problem is you want a better word for world”
This single line has resonated through my life like a bell that woke me from several things. Sometimes in the drudgery of life I recall this line, because of its depth and relevance. I should note that I don’t particularly like Bob Dylan, but there must be something about his approach that seeks the depths of human conscience. It certainly struck a chord with me.
What does this line mean to you?
In my drunken wisdom…
Maybe the line speaks to our inability to differentiate our own experience of life from the reality of the rest of the world. After all, we only experience the world from one perspective, and it’s neither going to be a perspective that matches the reality perfectly nor one that matches that of any other person. What words could communicate your experience across a void that big, really?
Or maybe it means nothing at all. I’m not particularly fond of Bob Dylan, either.
“your problem is you want a better word for world”
to me, it looks like this line is saying that we aren’t okay with the things we have. that nothing is good enough for us. we have the resources, the tools, the technology to get us through things, but we aren’t grateful for them-we always want more… and, of course, that’s a problem because we can’t learn to humble ourselves. we’ve been given so much in these past few generations that we expect, or we want to need, to receive more then we actually need.
does that make sense?
those are just my thoughts on the matter.
I agree w/ Krisit!