Stanza Five
I am an old man sipping the breeze that is forever young. (…) Instructed with history and miracles. ‘The Voice of the Mountain’ by Mamang the poet again comes to the soliloquy of the mountain. The mountain says he is like an old man who is sipping the forever young breeze to keep his soul fresh. In this section, the poet uses the breeze as a symbol of youthfulness and vigor. Moreover, the mountain says it is the macrocosm of the universe. Within his voice, one can hear the sea waves, and the wind circling the mountain peak. Whereas the language of humans changes gradually, the voice of the mountain doesn’t change. It’s eternal.
According to the poet, it is like the “change syllable” that orders the world. It is the voice of the creator. In the mountain’s ancient language, one can find the history and miracles of mankind. Through this reference, the poet associates the concept of the “universal language” about which Paulo Coelho has talked about in ‘The Alchemist’.
Stanza Six
I am the desert and the rain.
The wild bird that sits in the west.
(…)
A cloud is this uncertain pulse
That sits over my heart.
Thereafter, in the sixth stanza of ‘The Voice of the Mountain’ by Mamang, the mountain asserts his universality. He says he has the aridity of the desert and the moisture of the monsoon. The mountain even finds its manifestation in a bird that lives in the west. Several episodes of the past reiterate their importance through the voice of the mountain. Each particle of life, that clutch and cling for thousands of years, was nothing but the echo of the mountainous spirit.
Thereafter, the mountain, like an old man who recollects his thoughts while speaking, says “I know” twice to emphasize his wisdom and experience. There is a gift from Mam ang to the readers in this simile, “as rocks know, burning in the sun’s embrace, / about clouds, and sudden rain”. As for the rocks, the mountain knows about every little thing that occurs in the world.
In the following line, there is a marvelous use of the pun. The mountain says he knows a “cloud” is a “cloud”. Here, the “cloud” symbolizes uncertainty and pessimism. The poet associates both of the ideas in this repetition. However, in the last two lines of this stanza, the mountain refers to the clouds that embrace its heart. Here, the “clouds” symbolize grievous thoughts.
Stanza Seven
In the end the universe yields nothing
(…)
A moment of rest comes after long combat:
In the seventh stanza of ‘The Voice of the Mountain’, Mamang refers to the hopelessness at the end of the universe. What remains, is a dream of permanence. This dream is what keeps every living embodiment moving with the spirit of the world. Thereafter, the poet uses a paradoxical affirmation that “Peace is falsity” or daydream. Only “a moment of rest” comes after long combat. Whereas, the war of life continues. There are only pauses in the sentence of the universe. To live in peace is to live in an illusion.
Stanza Eight From the east the warrior returns (…) who survives, with happiness to carry on. In the eighth stanza of ‘The Voice of the Mountain’ by Mamang, the first two lines are connected using enjambment with the idea of the last stanza. Here, the poet refers to the warrior who returns with the “blood of peonies”. Such a contrasting image refers to the coexistence of struggle and beauty. Thereafter, the mountain says that his child-like spirit died at that edge of the world where he stands firmly. Moreover, the poet creates another contrast in the following lines. Here, she refers to the starlit sky and the scorching summer. Moreover, the mountain says he was once a woman but lost in the translation of time. However, he still survives in eternal happiness.
Stanza Nine
I am the breath that opens the mouth of the canyon,
(…)
I am the sleep in the mind of the mountain.
In the last stanza of ‘The Voice of the Mountain’, the mountain refers to its magnanimity. He creates a passage for the canyon to breathe. Moreover, he is like the sunlight on the tip of trees. Thereafter, he refers to the narrow gorge where the wind is always in haste. He is also there. Apart from that, the mountain is a place where memory escapes from one’s mind. Here, the “myth of time” doesn’t work. One loses the track of time, as if it halts near the mountain in awe. At last, the poetic persona says she is the sleep that exists in the mind of the mountain. In this way, the poet presents her similarity with the spirit of the Mountain.
First part of this poem's summary link is below :
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