“Evaluating”

When I read this poem, I discovered the beginning reminded me of Ecclesiastes 3 — the endless cycles of time. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon seems almost coldly analytical, but we can also detect undercurrent of pain. Because of pain, we can wish to be coldly analytical, but no logic — no amount of wisdom — allows us to avoid being human.

In Ecclesiastes Solomon explains how approached life as an experiment. He realized almost too late how foolish he had been. He knew God. In his dreams, God had spoken to him. God had given him wisdom. Nonetheless, Solomon’s pride drove him to seek an answer for life within himself. Ecclesiastes tells the story of his failure and the lesson he learned.

It seems strange that we attribute Ecclesiastes and Proverbs with the same man who wrote the Song of Solomon. Yet within this poem we see that same dichotomy. What begins with the grim logic of time ends with the demands of love.