Monday, June 08, 2009

More Glimpses and a Poem

The Blind Men and the Elephant
by John Godfrey Saxe

There were six men of Hindustan,
to learning much inclined,
Who went to see an elephant,
though all of them were blind,
That each by observation
might satisfy his mind.

The first approached the elephant,
and happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
at once began to bawl,
"This mystery of an elephant
is very like a wall."



The second, feeling of the tusk,
cried, "Ho, what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an elephant
is very like a spear."


The third approached the elephant,
and happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
thus boldly up and spake,
"I see," quoth he,
"the elephant is very like a snake."



The fourth reached out an eager hand,
and felt above the knee,
"What this most wondrous beast
is like is very plain" said he,
"'Tis clear enough the elephant
is very like a tree."

The fifth who chanced to touch the ear
said, "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
deny the fact who can;
This marvel of an elephant
is very like a fan."

The sixth no sooner had begun
about the beast to grope,
Than seizing on the swinging tail
that fell within his scope;
"I see," said he, "the elephant
is very like a rope."

So six blind men of Hindustan
disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
exceeding stiff and strong;
Though each was partly in the right,
they all were in the wrong!


I'm quilting my Hoffman, and since you're smarter than the six blind men, you can probably fill in the rest. More later--

9 comments:

Libby Fife said...

Love the poem! The piece looks great so far:)

laura west kong said...

Wonderful ~ thanks for the peek! That reminds me ... I really need to BUY my Hoffman Challenge fabric if I'm going to enter this year. =(^_^)=

Nellie's Needles said...

oooooo...love what I can see!

allie aller said...

What fun! A quilt to go with a poem....

Deb Geyer said...

Cool! Thanks for sharing the poem. Love it!

Debra Dixon said...

Oh, you are so sneaky!

(I need to settle down with mine & get to stitching! the deadline is near!)

jenclair said...

I've always loved that poem! I want to "see" more!

Barbara C said...

This is one of my favorite stories. I look forward to seeing the whole piece.

*karendianne. said...

Wow! This is going to linger with me now...