The Language

"Locate I"

Do it. Go on, locate I! The only location I can be is right here. The Self as a metaphysical entity cannot be located apart from the physical location of I. Creeley starts in right off the bat with a challenge. Objects may be located, the physical I may be located. The title, The Language, is straight to the point. Language is, just as the Self, unable to exist without the physical. He is not merely referring to a body to make an arbitrary symbol or sound, but also to objects which must exist in order for the mind to have something for which to make an arbitrary symbol.

"little. Words / say everything." Words, and by implication language, are the only reason we can have a cognitive idea to define objects. In other words, if we did not have language we would not be able to give objects any value in our mind. Cognition would be only instinct and no reason.

"I / love you / again, / then what" The "I" is separated from "love" because, since I is only capable of being located in the physical sense, it must be separated from love. Love cannot be located, is a concept, a metaphysical idea. Being so there is only one object to represent love, a little word. l-o-v-e So words are objects, are concrete, are full. Maybe that one little word is enough on which to locate the abstract idea of love.

Unfortunately, what words are full of is holes. The hole is known as the poverty of the input. One must have objects to label with words. But reciprocally objects must have words before the mind may define even to oneself any object. This is the inescapable power and inability of language.