Each night before bed Lexi likes to read a poem. Having finished A Child's Garden of Verses recently, we began the anthology "Read-Aloud Poems for Young People". Some nights she can read the poem du jour herself, but often I read these to her. In this way we can discuss the poem's meaning, clarify any points, and talk about some of the imagery or language, too.
Tonight, we read The Blind Man and the Elephant. I don't know how I made it through all the years of English Literature classes I did without ever reading this, but I loved it as much as she did. Together we discussed the nature of God, and the nature of knowledge itself. And as I came downstairs afterwards, I couldn't help but also think about the debates I've been reading among the parents in the autistic community lately regarding causation: genetic or triggered by toxins? Each side is so convinced that they alone are right.
How adamant we humans can be about our own small piece of the truth...
The Blind Men and the Elephant
John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)
It was six men of Indostan |
The First approached the Elephant, |
The Second, feeling of the tusk, |
The Third approached the animal, |
The Fourth reached out an eager hand, |
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, |
The Sixth no sooner had begun |
And so these men of Indostan |
