Literature Clues: Strength

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

allibee	10 May 2003
Ok I've never written a poem before, well not since I was at school about 30 years ago, so NO moaning about structure or anything ;) Take heart The Butterfly of Auschwitz Your spirit lies beyond their reach For they can never catch you Their walls cannot hold you Their chambers not extinguish you Yet you stay in their darkness Illuminating the longest moments Your tender wings Against their steely anger History will be in wonder of you But for some Their eyes are blind to you Their days have no meaning Their reality is primal Yet you touch their broken soul You would have them catch you But they cannot see you They cannot reach you And so they are already lost Yet you patiently remain The most precious of God’s gifts… The Butterfly of Auschwitz A. p.s. I hope this is not too ambiguous

jmd	10 May 2003
the Fool

allibee	10 May 2003
Sorry jmd, nice idea though. I added two lines while you were in the middle of posting tho.

jmd	10 May 2003
...well, then, my second guess, before I log out, is the: Page of Swords

allibee	10 May 2003
Ewww, sorry, no.

Moongold	10 May 2003
Princess of Cups?

allibee	10 May 2003
Hi Moongold Sorry. One hint: It's a major One cryptic clue: The Butterfly of Auschwitz is the fairy tale amid the terror…. laterally speaking :O) A.

allibee	10 May 2003
Some more.... if you can bear it, LOL..... There is no hope, there is no star There is no optimism All these lay as ashes Scattered to the wind Yet what remains For some at least Those that will survive Against the power of hate, is The Butterfly of Auschwitz A.

Two of Wands	10 May 2003
Death

allibee	10 May 2003
No, it's not I'm afraid TW If it helps any, think of the imagery - the metephor - of the Butterfly of Auschwitz, and then try and apply that to the rest. A,

Two of Wands	10 May 2003
Well it sounds a rather dark card, at least on the surface, we've just had the Tower, and only recently had the Moon, but I think I'll suggest The Moon, before making one final guess if this is wrong!

allibee	10 May 2003
It's not the Moon TW, but I'll put all the clues so far in one place, so it's easier to visualise: Take heart The Butterfly of Auschwitz Your spirit lies beyond their reach For they can never catch you Their walls cannot hold you Their chambers not extinguish you Yet you stay in their darkness Illuminating the longest moments Your tender wings Against their steely anger History will be in wonder of you But for some Their eyes are blind to you Their days have no meaning Their reality is primal Yet you touch their broken soul You would have them catch you But they cannot see you They cannot reach you And so they are already lost Yet you patiently remain The most precious of God’s gifts… The Butterfly of Auschwitz One hint: It's a major One cryptic clue: The Butterfly of Auschwitz is the fairy tale amid the terror…. laterally speaking :O) There is no hope, there is no star There is no optimism All these lay as ashes Scattered to the wind Yet what remains For some at least Those that will survive Against the power of hate, is The Butterfly of Auschwitz A.

Two of Wands	10 May 2003
Is it The Hermit?

allibee	10 May 2003
No, sorry TW. I think maybe you were thinking in the right direction though :O) A.

Two of Wands	10 May 2003
:) OK! Last go, then I'll allow better people than I to try. Errrrr, er, and um... Is it The Hanged Man? :)

allibee	10 May 2003
I'm crying for you here TW.... no ..... Print it off, think about it for a while. Don't give up! I actually thought everyone would get it straight away and I was sweating in case it was too easy, LOL A.

Two of Wands	10 May 2003
Their walls cannot hold you Their chambers not extinguish you Yet you stay in their darkness Illuminating the longest moments Your tender wings Against their steely anger History will be in wonder of you But for some Their eyes are blind to you I'm wondering if this is actually discussing perceptions. Are we talking of people's fears and the harness that religion tries to put on what is evil and what is not. If so then the butterfly could be an aspect of what The Devil card could stand for. The parts of our soul or personality that are repressed by others because of convention and belief. Actually stuff that; is the butterfly a person's inner strength? The inner strength that is always there even if people do not realise it or call upon it? Yep, I'll go with Strength. I'm tired now, let me rest

allibee	10 May 2003
Quote: Actually stuff that; is the butterfly a person's inner strength? The inner strength that is always there even if people do not realise it or call upon it? Yep, I'll go with Strength. I'M SO PLEASED TO HEAR IT :O) YES, YES, YES :O) The Butterfly of Auschwitz - I hope - conjured up images of gentleness, compassion and an unstoppable will to live in a terrible dark place. A lot of the text was meant to stir images of 'Beauty and the Beast'. The fairy tale amid the terror. Their hope had been taken but nothing could take away their inner strength to live. Their courage Not walls, nor guards, nor gas chambers. When all else had been taken, this is what could never be taken. Their spirit. But those that had lost their inner strength, their will, had lost everything. It was there if they wanted it, but many of them just gave up. The rest endured. "Against the power of hate, is The Butterfly of Auschwitz" Another image of the absolute power of love, patience and gentleness over force and hate. God's most precious gift to these people was the strength to survive, the determination to endure. And NOBODY could take that away from them. BTW this is the text that inspired my poem: Man's Search for Meaning Frankl, Viktor E. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms--- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's way. [p.~104] Over to you TW..... :O) A.

The Literature Clues: Strength thread was originally posted on 10 May 2003 in the Tarot Games & Fun board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Games & Fun, or read more archived threads.