Hi Peter,
Perhaps I was rather too flippant with this comment, but I feel
there is always the possibility of chance banalities in poetry,
no matter who the author is. By chance I mean something more
than chance, though -- a subconscious or (gulp) supra-conscious
ordering process which, to the writer, appears wholly arbitrary
in the moment of creation. The trouble is though, it *may* also
be arbitrary, a filling-out of meter, the search for a suitable rhyme,
disciplined waffle, etc.
I think I'm trying to resist the search for meaning in *everything* . . .
for the reasons mentioned with regard to 'genius' -- this appelation
seems to carry with it the idea of flawlessness, the aura of a
watchmaker god or something. I would only like to argue for
banal synchronicities, perhaps.
So . . . why stew or soup?? Firstly, they are similar dishes, and
perhaps easy to confuse when seen from a distance in subdued
lighting, especially if you think of the more 'authentic' or 'rustic' (?)
soups, very thick, with huge chunks of meat / vegetables, etc.
Second, I would say both are 'poor' dishes, humble fare -- we're
not talking nouvelle cuisine. Stuff thrown together in a stock,
leftovers. So I guess being humble dishes, this would tie in
somehow with the idea of the waiter as a Christ figure. He is
a servant. A servant who also displays a certain formal grace
(when bowing).
Bowing to his absence . . . . think of the Nag Hammadi gospels,
perhaps -- the dualistuc Gnostic vision of the 'true' spiritual Christ
looking upon the 'false' physical Christ on the cross, saying to
one of the disciples, "Look on him, and look on me." This is maybe
a long shot though . . . . anyway, a Christ paying observance to his
own presence / absence.
Third, he needed a rhyme for 'up' :-)
Andy
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