One

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number-one


One

I am Brahma
the straight line, the upright being,

fire that flares,
seed without end, manifold

self beyond all
polarity, radiating sun:
the all.

Philosophers considered one a non-number,
generatrix of all that follows.

Other.

The singularity. The lone.

From the Indo-European oi-qos we achieve solitude,
while the collective meaning of one derives from the Sanskrit sam.

United in itself, it changes nothing,
becoming everything.

On its side it represents the horizon.

Alone is all-one.
The Latin non is one negated, as is the German nein.

Symbol of intellect, the Hindu moon glows wide.
Atomic number of hydrogen, magician’s numeral,

monad and eccentric, I bear the empty product.

one on side

“One” first appeared here in February 2016.

50 thoughts on “One”

  8. I am Brahma
    the straight line

    is such a good line, i’m in agreement with the Amiable Ethnomusicologist on this one, i’m a fan of “monad and eccentric” too, it sort of baffles that a numeral can be eccentric.

    i have to ask, with the number poems were you tempted to count back from the last number there is?

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  12. I am Brahma, said it all for me right from the start. You capture much more in your poem and eventually it does all lead us back to One. It does bring me inspiration, thank you for sharing it. Re-posting is definitely a great idea for those of us joining long after something was posted.

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  15. Numbers! The concept of one-ness ties in really well altogether throughout. The line about one being a non-number prompted me to ask this: have you tried your hands at a decimal poem? They’re supposed to be irrational, just like how poetry is seemingly impenetrable at surface level…ha ha ha. Ok…that was awful, but still.

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  17. Hi Robert,
    What an engaged community you’ve built! Congratulations! I love photography and I’m always trying to improve mine. I’ve blogged about it often.
    In regards to your poem, I couldn’t remember who Brahma was. I thought it was a Hindu reference. I taught Hinduism to 6th graders long ago. I Googled it, and I was right! It was a Hindu reference!
    I am writing to thank you for liking my post about how to get swarms of traffic using Flipboard. I came to thank you and introduce myself.
    Janice

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