Vishuddha — The Bellicose
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
a machination of things to be forgotten
a past self become conscious for future stock
a mottled mask made real for daily wear
a host to test the metal
broad strokes on tin
with a full arm
with a haggard pace
with a chest huffed
with king cowardice
a mind full
grant solid wishes
Bear no resemblance to who used to live in a flat and settled land
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What is a Kansas poet without a poem about the Wizard of Oz? It seems inevitable that this heroic journey of self discovery comes to the forefront of the Kansan’s mind, and requests their attention. I wrote this poem from the point of view of the Wizard himself, “an old Kansas man myself, born and bred in the heart of the Western Wilderness”, a man who left Kansas and found Oz by flying a balloon and catching the high wind. Also, a man who by fate of nature, much like Dorothy, finds himself an opportunity to explore an unknown land, and determine his own identity, manifest his own reality, grant wishes.
From my understanding, the Wizard of Oz is a classic narrative journey, a story with growth and hardship, a struggle of the self with its environment and the resulting evolution, the inner and the outer collide and are transformed by one another. Dorothy must learn what it is to be the autonomous, living, breathing, thinking, feeling, acting, manifesting thing that a human being is. The story mirrors guiding pillars of esoteric/occult practices: As I Think, so I Feel, so I Act. Through these innate parts of our processing system, we are more able to consciously interact with our waking reality.
She meets the Scarecrow and learns what it is to think, to reason, receive information and parse it, process it through the organic machine that is the brain to determine what is “true” in this life. Living the truth means that we are honest with ourselves and with others. We don’t have to pretend to be someone we’re not.
Through the Tin Man, Dorothy learns what it is to feel, to have a voice and articulate the feelings that well within the self. We discover him living alone in a dark and ominous forest. He sentenced himself to the forest with the belief he would never be able to love, because he had no heart, no self-esteem and worthwhileness in the world.
The Cowardly Lion teaches the value of courage, how it is needed to assuage the anxiety and fears that inevitably confront us in the dark wood we travel. Courage is not the absence of fear, but moving ahead despite fear. For if there is no fear, who needs courage? The importance of the final piece of the puzzle, “Action”, is highlighted in the Lion having two songs in the film. The first act fails, as it sometimes does, what is most important is that there is a second attempt. Try, try again. It is in the acting out of thought and feeling that true divine manifestation takes place. An idea, phrase, image, essence appears in our minds, we ruminate upon it, filter it through the heart and the soul, see what resonates, then we act upon these impulses, carrying out the process of creation that has been, and will forever be, ongoing.
Vishuddha, the forthcoming first book of poetry by Ian Cook, is available for pre-order through Anam Cara Press LLC, and releases in June 2024 — https://anamcara-press.com/product/vishuddha/
At his core, Ian Cook is a mutt. An amalgamation of many things — differing origins, Swedish/German patronage, Chinese-Indonesian matronage, raised internationally. An in-between, a hybrid being; flowing, swimming, a life in and out of water, amphibious. He is a collection of multitudes, many selves, many-masks, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, sleeplessness, and dreams that don’t end. He receives waves, whispers, and frequencies from The Beyond and translates them into Art, Music, and Poetry.
Ian Cook is the author of Vishuddha, a collection of poetry that deals with communication, what it is, and how the individual does it: by speaking, singing, screaming, writing, drawing, expressing, playing, by communing with All. He has had work featured in online and print journals such as Snarl Journal, KU’s Kiosk Magazine, Avatar Review, and others. Ian lives, writes, draws, sings, and plays in Lawrence, Kansas, with his partner Maddie, pups Mildred, and Cordelia, and rats Remy, Grandpa, Alfie, and Charles.
For the past few years, Ian has been involved in growing mental health communities and the psychedelic-assisted therapy space. He educates about safety, risk reduction, creativity, and self-expression, as well as the importance of preparation and integration practices. He teaches creative writing, advocates for the veteran non-profit Heroic Hearts Project, and forms community through the Lawrence Psychedelic Society.
In an intimate collection of poems, Ian Cook chronicles the journey of one isolated in their thoughts and feelings, and unable to communicate, to a self-expanded — through developing the throat chakra, exploring what it means to use language, words, sounds, symbols, to transfer information and understanding. Can we use our oldest technologies to express our individual experience of reality? How can words express the authentic self, a complex of context and circumstances that over years formed “You”? This collection of poems spans years of growth, self-work, and exploring new ways to express through many mediums.
From navigating the maze of mental health, depression, and bipolar disorder, came a way for the author to process and understand the self through internal dialogues, streams of consciousness, and translating thoughts and emotions through the filter of the self. Communicating is making sounds, drawing shapes, creating symbols, meaning, singing songs, or plucking strings, each expression holding its own meaning and power.
For the author, poetry became a tool for them to translate the amorphous thoughts and feelings into tangible vibrations, frequencies that seek to resonate with the reader. Through sound — rhyming, consonance, assonance, like-sounds — the author explores words and language flow. By playing with line and structure, single ideas stand on their own, lines can read as individual thoughts, or shift in meaning alongside different contexts.
As the methods of communication develop over years of practice and accumulated understanding, Vishuddha is the 16 flowering petals unfolding, the shade of cool blue smoke, which elicit pure cosmic sound, visions of the three periods: past, present and future; freedom from ailment and old age, destruction of dangers, and the ability to move the three worlds.
