JOE ROSS: Where Was The Flag B-E-F-O-R-E?
Joe Ross’s poetic work, Where Was The Flag B–E–F–O–R–E?, is an intricate meditation on existence, perception, and transformation. It invites the reader into a dynamic interplay between philosophy, spirituality, and cultural reflection, using language as a fluid medium through which meaning constantly re-emerges. The work resists traditional narrative structure, instead embodying a cyclical and recursive rhythm that mirrors the evolving nature of thought and experience.
At its core, the poem grapples with the essence of being and becoming, questioning the very foundations upon which we construct meaning. Ross weaves a philosophical inquiry into temporality, exploring how past, present, and future coalesce into a singular unfolding. The motif of the flag serves as a symbol of this inquiry—both an emblem of presence and a marker of absence, a signifier of identity and yet a challenge to fixed definitions. The question “Where was the flag before?” echoes throughout the text, urging the reader to confront the limits of knowing and the fluidity of existence.
Spiritually, the poem gestures toward a transcendent awareness, one that emerges from the dissolution of fixed constructs. By invoking repetition, variation, and negation, Ross mirrors the meditative and paradoxical qualities found in Zen koans, which use language to point beyond language itself. The text becomes a space of contemplation, where the tension between holding on and letting go is explored through the rhythmic undulations of sound and sense. The idea of “Re-beginning” recurs, evoking cycles of renewal and the impermanence inherent in all things. In this sense, the poem does not merely describe spirituality; it enacts it, inviting the reader to dwell in the liminal space between words and silence, meaning and unmeaning.
Culturally, the poem resists rigid structures of interpretation, instead engaging with the complexities of perception and understanding. The flag, often associated with national identity and political power, is reframed here as an ephemeral presence—both seen and unseen, both material and conceptual. Ross disrupts linear logic, instead embracing a more fluid and holistic mode of engagement, reminiscent of traditions in jazz, improvisational music, and experimental poetics. The rhythm and cadence of the poem reflect a musical sensibility, where words function as notes in a larger composition, resonating with themes of displacement, identity, and the search for meaning.
Ultimately, Where Was The Flag B–E–F–O–R–E? is a profound engagement with the nature of perception, inviting the reader into an experience of language that is both cerebral and sensory. By blending philosophical musings, spiritual inquiry, and cultural reflection, Ross crafts a poetic landscape that is as elusive as it is evocative, where meaning is not fixed but perpetually in motion. The poem does not provide answers; rather, it opens a space for questioning, for seeing anew, and for encountering the deep resonance of existence itself.
ISBN 9791399025309, 90 Pages, 13 x 20 cm, Paperback