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To a certain extent it is more imaginative, more exciting, and more fun. Fantasy is like a lake where man throws all his ideas and dreams, and then he dives on in from the springboard of imagination. So, jump in to the lake. Why not? Just make sure that when you jump in to the lake you know how to get back from where you came from. Because, no matter how big a fantasy is, to the point that it somehow changes our perception of what is real and what is not, we should still be able to determine what is just a product of the imagination and what is really real. That no matter how extraordinary and cunning fantasy may be, we should still be able to distinguish one from the other, we should still be able to tell apart what is just mere fantasy and what is reality. And in Edith Tiempo's Serpemt from the Charmer's Box we are going to encounter a great deal of images, mixing imagination with reality. In the first ten lines, the poem starts it off with a picture of a sudden city that crowds into the leaves of the mango. The section of the sudden city is a product of the imagination, that by the very idea of the word "sudden," it means that it was thought of instantly and unexpectedly, something that just "popped up" into an idea. The unexpected presence of a sudden city is somewhat indicative of an illusion. And that "sudden city" that crowds into the leaves of the mango refers to the blending of the imagination and reality. The phrase leaves of the mango points to something that real and lifelike. And so, the sudden city, which is the imagination, penetrates itself into the leaves of the mango, which is reality. This is fantasy mixing itself with reality, that in the process, it is now becoming hard to determine whether that particular fantasy is still just a fantasy apart from reality or it is already mistaken to be reality itself. Soft trick of sun and shadow conjures the fruits and foliates into tall towers and halls, risen from the windy old streets. This would mean the sun playing tricks by producing shadows. Shadows are kind of a pointer to something, pointing to what is real and yet in itself is not real, just like the imagination. Just as the sun produces the shadow, the mind produces the imagination, wherein both the shadow and the imagination point to something that is real but again, in themselves alone are not real. And so, the sun playing tricks would mean conjuring or summoning the fruits and foliates, which refer to little bits of reality and transforming them into tall towers and halls, which in turn are pinpointing to grand and fantastical images. In other words, simple pieces of reality are then altered into majestic landscapes thus creating a fantasy. And to enhance the image more, the tall towers and halls are risen from the windy old streets. What do we usually find in windy old streets? We find dilapidated and out-of-date houses and structures and yet the image of tall towers and halls are found on those very streets. The very presence of tall towers and halls in windy old streets is itself a contradiction. The simple nature of windy old streets is overshadowed by the grandiosity of tall towers and halls. In similarity, a simple reality is maneuvered into a magnified fantastical image. Here where the narrow encounters of glare with shade recall, would mean the slim chances of getting a glimpse of reality because by the idea of glare itself, it shows that one cannot look at that thing directly because it is somehow blinding and the shade intercepts that blinding rays of reality but it doesn't change the fact that one can still get to see the light of that glare. However, the glare of the light is no longer of the same magnitude as it was without the shade. The difference in the light's magnitude somehow makes one fretful or worried as awareness sinks in since critical observation is at work. And where the mind achieves a perfect amity with sense, shows that the mind is comfortable with the image that it is seeing because for the mind the image creates a perfect amity or harmony, thus making sense. And so the question rears up, serpent from the charmer's box: What is that splendid suddenness of city streets? Whatever it is that is in the charmer's box is suppose to enchant but by the very presence of a serpent, the enchantment is now turned into deception, because the idea of a serpent is a symbol of deception, indicative of an illusion, thus it goes against the very idea of a charmer's box, which is a contradiction. This contradiction of having a serpent in a charmer's box, in turn, makes one wonder of the abrupt presence of impressive city streets. The unexpected occurrence of city streets is somehow being questioned. Is it presence, or a vision? Is it a reality? Or is it just an illusion? Is what one seeing the product of one's imagination? Or is it the truth? Or the absent din of men nowhere and faceless? Trapped inside a paradox? This means that there is difficulty in identifying what is real from the illusion. The men who are caught in this dichotomy is somewhat lost and thus, just keep quiet as seen from the phrase absent din of men, leaving themselves to be entangled in the conflict of determining illusion from reality, thus the paradox. But who is to say how the mind achieves the conjunction of belief with leaf? Belief here connotes to what is perceived to be real and true, while the leaf refers to what is really real. But how does one tell or explain the concurrence of that belief or illusion with that of reality? Simply: The sudden city lives. Or in other words, the imagination does exist. And it is the power of the imagination that creates wonder in reconciling the difference between an illusion and reality. It is only through the power of the imagination that one can distinguish what is imagined and what is not. This is the pipe that one put to lips to charm or stun, or come to grips. The pipe that is being referred to here is the sudden city, the imagination that is used in either to attract, enchant, or to surprise the one facing the image, thus getting stuck or remaining in that state of fantasy. But at the same time, one can hold on to reality by identifying that image to be just a product of the imagination. Again, just to reiterate the point, in identifying a certain image to be just a fantasy or an imagination, one can be charmed or stunned by it and in the process remain in the state of imagination and be detached from reality or one can come to grips, meaning to be still in touch with reality, with what is really real and true. The poem is basically just about the distinction of imagination and reality. That imagination does exist and it can be just as powerful as reality can be. And it is up to the person how he/she is going to handle the tool of imagination. It's either that one can get swayed by it or one can easily reject it. But nevertheless, reality and imagination co-exist, the present and the same time, the vision. And so, one should never underestimate nor undermine the power of the imagination. Bibliography: Word Count: 1343
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