Stanzas in Meditation: Stanza II – Gertrude Stein

I think very well of Susan but I do not know her name

I think very well of Ellen but which is not the same

I think very well of Paul I tell him not to do so

I think very well of Francis Charles but do I do so

I think very well of Thomas but I do not not do so

I think very well of not very well of William

I think very well of any very well of him

I think very well of him.

It is remarkable how quickly they learn

But if they learn and it is very remarkable how quickly they learn

It makes not only but by and by

And they may not only be not here

But not there

Which after all makes no difference

After all this does not make any does not make any difference

I add added it to it.

I could rather be rather be here.

I was prompted by one of the films we saw in class based on Four Saints in Three Acts. I think this poem has a lot of potential to be converted into a film and it allows for a lot of creative freedom. Its fun world plays makes it comical and allow for the director make a light video. But you can definitely sense that there is a deeper meaning lying beneath the words. The social circle it describes is almost universal (if not the whole, then parts) and the fact that almost anyone can relate to it in some way or another makes it my choice of poem.