Wrote this several years ago and was reminded of it today:
Existential Alphabet
A is for Angst, that Dizzying Freedom
B is for Being, its Possibility and its Tedium
C is for the Character of Conscience as Call
D is for Dasein, almost Any Existence at All
E is for Existential, it’s What We Are
And E is also for Experience –in the World, not as Brains Stuck in Jars
F is for Flungness and Throwness, experienced by the Knower
And G is for God who just might be the Thrower
H is for the Actual Historicity of Truth
And I is for the Immanentizing Ideologies of Untruth
J is for Judgments, we make these by Thinking
K is for Kenosis, when our own Will starts Shrinking
L is for Logos, we’re talking the Divine Ground
And M is for Mystery, since it’s not just Lying Around
N is for Nihilism and No Objective Morality
O is for Ontology and Openness to Reality
P is for Problematizing, my least favourite Verb
And Q is for Questioning, which is much less Absurd
R is for Relationship to the Other Man
And R is also for Recognition that should be Reciprocal, if it can
S is for the Separateness in the Human Condition of Plurality
And T is for Transcendence Beyond Worldly Temporality
U is for Utopia and All such Prideful Conceits
V is for this Will replacing Vision Not even being Discreet
W is for World, with a Structure quite Complex
X is for Xenophon, ’cause his Name starts with ‘X’
Y is for ‘Youth’ and ‘Old Age’, Historical Metaphors that have Misled
And Z is for Zoomorphism, ’cause that starts with ‘Zed’
Now I think I know my existential alphabet… Next time will this be a waste of time, in retrospect?
