I´ve sometimes thought poems in TP could have a deeper meaning. I like to think of them as some kind of codes only known to those who are supernatural beings or those who want to become one of them, or something similar. I´m thinking not only in the famous "Through the darkness of future past..." but also in the verses we can hear in Mike´s interrogation ("He is Bob / eager for fun / He wears a smile / everybody run") or the european pilot  ("Heads up, tails up / running to your scallywag / night falls, morning calls / catch you with my Death Bag."). When I read the original script of episode 29 I noticed what Windom Earle says just before entering the lodge with Annie (which is the same we hear in the broadcasted version) is written in inverted commas ("I tell you they have not died / Their hands clasp yours and mine.") so my question is: Is Windom quoting someone else´s famous poem o is it Lynch´s invention? I ask you this because when I read it it gave me the feeling Windom had already learnt this "code" and he was ready to become a supernatural spirit. Furthermore, I´ve always have asumed Windom had entered the lodge the night before because at the beginning of episode 28 he returned to his cabin with a white face.

What do you think?

It's in the original script by Frost, Peyton and Engels, and it's a poem by Gordon Johnstone. I doubt Lynch had much to do with this, because it seems that this is read in Masonic circles and thus fits in with the White Lodge motif. Though he might have been instrumental in this, these seem to me to be Frost's ideas.

I'm somewhat surprised that there are all kinds of references on Twin Peaks websites to the poem by Percy Shelley ("Love's Philosophy", with the lines "See the mountains kiss high heaven...") but hardly any reference anywhere to Johnstone's poem. The lines not recited by Earle fit beautifully too. "Why seek ye them above, Those that ye love dear? The All of God is Love! The All of God is Here!" is very much to the point and clearly thought out by the writers.

Here's the whole thing:

"There Is No Death" by Gordon Johnstone

I tell you they have not died,
They live and breathe with you;
They walk here at your side,
They tell you things are true.
Why dream of poppied sod
When you can feel their breath,
When flow’r and soul and God
Knows there is no death

Death's but an open door,
We move from room to room.
There is one life, no more;
No dying and no tomb.
Why seek ye them above
Those that ye love dear?
The All of God is Love.
The All of God is Here.

I tell you they have not died,
Their hands clasp yours and mine;
They are but glorified,
They have become divine.
They live! They know! The see!
They shout with every breath:
"Life is eternity!
There is no death!"

EDIT: I'm confused now. It seems it's also a song or maybe a psalm with music by Geoffrey O'Hara. Most reproductions of the song/poem seem to lack the second verse. Does anyone know anything else about this?
EDIT2: Geoffrey O'Hara writes about the song HERE (pages 96-100)

I love how Kenneth Welsh delivers Windom's song pieces and little poems... "All night long I held her in my aaarms...".

And talking about poems but going way offtopic (perdón Henry) I remember an old discussion we had about Harriet's poem about Laura. Many people thought the poem was silly, simple, childish, but I believe that's the point and the beauty of it... I have mixed feelings about the Hayward Supper Club scene, but I loved that Harriet moment in its glorious simplicity. And quoting Harriet, now that some time has passed, I wonder what people think about it now...

I wasn't part of that discussion, but I love the entire Hayward supper club scene. It's amazing from beginning to end. I like the poem a lot too. It might not be a great poem per se, but neither are the "The World Spins" lyrics. It's all about execution and mood. And I think Jessica Wallenfels who played Harriet did everything right, in, well, both her scenes. She's shy about it in a very real way. It makes a lot of sense to me.

And talking about poems but going way offtopic (perdón Henry) I remember an old discussion we had about Harriet's poem about Laura. Many people thought the poem was silly, simple, childish, but I believe that's the point and the beauty of it... I have mixed feelings about the Hayward Supper Club scene, but I loved that Harriet moment in its glorious simplicity. And quoting Harriet, now that some time has passed, I wonder what people think about it now...

I always thought that poem had Lynch's name all over it. It reminds me of the Julee Cruise lyrics he penned, in it's sparse and expressionistic style. All the Hayward girls are supposed to be, like geniuses, so it's probably not intended to be "childish." I always get uncomfortable over elegies because they are so cathartic, still, the idea that Laura might have actually visited Gersten in her dreams is intriguing.  (Harriet is the one with the curly hair, you know, Ben's other daughter.)

p.s. Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley was recently used as the inspiration for a BPAL perfume.

Um, I'm pretty sure it was Harriet who read that poem; Gersten played piano. I totally agree about that poem, and I love the whole scene. Though I think episode 8 stretches too long, and has some pretty pointless scenes, I love the first 20 minutes and the last 10 minutes... those are just brilliant. The rest of the episode is good too, but not quite up to the usual standards of Lynch episodes. I definitely prefer episode 9.

Whoops, my bad. Mind is going.

   (Harriet is the one with the curly hair, you know, Ben's other daughter.) 

That was a joke, MisterGrey.

Anyhoo, pardon my boo-boo. I do fast forward through that scene, beause I don't like the poem- or Harriet's perm.

Henry must be hating me right now for creating this offtopic mayhem...but I must mention once and for all a shot I absolutely hate from the Hayward supper club scene: Donna laughing when Leland is singing... First we see Doc Hayward's smile, then Maddy's honest laughter and then LFB with her eyes closed laughing horribly...uninspired... I dislike that bit so much, just like Hawk falling when Andy opens a door or Annie's huge and unsexy bra...

.. LFB with her eyes closed laughing horribly...uninspired... I dislike that bit so much, just like Hawk falling when Andy opens a door or Annie's huge and unsexy bra...

Haha!  Because it's like burlesque/ Benny Hill?  Wouldn't it have been awesome if Annie stripped off her modest blouse and pencil skirt and was wearing a rubber corset, backseamed fishnets and a thong with 2" metal spikes?  

No offense, Henry. We will get back on track here soon!

I just realized that I don't like any of the poems besides "fire, walk with me".

They all seem about as deep as "one two freddy's comin' for you".

I loved Pete's wine induced beginning of his limerick... Well, maybe not *loved*, but it promised to be very good, in a dirty and naughty way...

I loved Pete's wine induced beginning of his limerick... Well, maybe not *loved*, but it promised to be very good, in a dirty and naughty way...

Don´t worry about the "off-topics" mates! Anyway, the thread is entitled "Poems" so, it´s wide enough to give opinions about any of those ones we hear in the series  (by the way, the supper club dinner scene is pure Lynch. I bet it´s the poem he would like to have written to a girl like Laura)

Evenreven, thanks for your answer, it´s another great revelation for me! Anyway, I read that article from Guideposts and tried to look for some information about Gordon Johnstone in the net but I wasn´t succesful... Is the composition "I told you they are not dead" more popular as a poem or as a song? Did Johnstone belong to masonic circles? The reading of the poem is amazing and I agree with you that fits with the context of Windom and Annie´s scene... I wonder if, in some way, Windom recites this as a way of mocking Annie´s beliefs, considering she had started to pray before entering the circle and bearing in mind that, deep down, Johnstone´s poem is talking about faith in the "good" God...

>>>I read that article from Guideposts and tried to look for some information about Gordon Johnstone in the net but I wasn´t succesful...<<<
He seems to be pretty obscure. I can't find any info about him either, except links to some sheet music and a book that has never been reprinted. I take it he was was primarily a lyric writer, since the only mention of him anywhere as a poet is in this book.

>>>Is the composition "I told you they are not dead" more popular as a poem or as a song?<<<
I'm almost 100 percent sure it's more popular as a song. If the song usually has two or three verses, I don't know, though. (Btw, it's called "There is no death" and the line is "I tell you they have not died". Sorry for the nitpicking.)

>>>Did Johnstone belong to masonic circles?<<<
Don't know. Probably not. There's nothing inherently masonic about it, I think. However, one of the few online search hits is from a masonic source (from Washington state, even!), so it might have been appropriated and used by Freemasons. Maybe Frost knew about this, though that's doubtful.

>>>The reading of the poem is amazing and I agree with you that fits with the context of Windom and Annie´s scene... I wonder if, in some way, Windom recites this as a way of mocking Annie´s beliefs, considering she had started to pray before entering the circle and bearing in mind that, deep down, Johnstone´s poem is talking about faith in the "good" God...<<<
Could be. Nice thought.

>>>Is the composition "I told you they are not dead" more popular as a poem or as a song?<<<
I'm almost 100 percent sure it's more popular as a song. If the song usually has two or three verses, I don't know, though. (Btw, it's called "There is no death" and the line is "I tell you they have not died". Sorry for the nitpicking.)

 Ooops! Yes, you´re right, I knew it but I noticed later... Thanks for all the information Evenreven. By the way... I wrote in Google "I told you they have not died clasp" and the first appearing option is this one:

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~george/thomas_wilhoite.html

"Eulogy for soldiers"? Signed by "Windom Earle"? What´s that??????

I noticed that too. Some joker probably just remembered the quote from Twin Peaks and goofed when crediting it. It's ridiculous anyway since Earle didn't even quote the whole thing. They must have had a different source for it, so why not give the right name in the first place? Sloppy.

I heart teh interwebz.

Sorry if I ask a stupid question, but my level of English it´s not good enough to be 100% sure about everything I read... Re-reading the original script I noticed there´s a brief note before Windom recites Johnstone´s verses:

Earle moves towards her. Annie screams, terrified. Behind her the doorway to the Lodge begins to open, a hole in space. Earle is crazed with joy. A benediction.

EARLE: "I tell you they have not died. Their hands clasp yours and mine."

Is the word "benediction" telling us what Windom says is like a prayer or something similar? Otherwise, I don´t understand the meaning of that word in that context...

Here's something kind of on-topic: 

"Futures past" is one of the stranger phrases in the FWWM poem.

I just came across a Jacques Lacan phrase "future anterior," that refers to the determinism of the symbolic. For example, when a sentence is halfway finished, it's meaning hangs in the air as something that will have been.  The meaning of the sentence always was, even when it wasn't.  It's not past, present, or future tense. It's 'future past' tense.   The Other knows the truth behind all your communication.  In another source I found this compared to the language we use in the psychoanalyst's office, that's coded with repressed meaning, a message that is delivered to the Other that can be decoded.  

This reminds of "deliver the message", the Log Lady's words to Major Briggs. And also "break the code, solve the crime,"  Cooper re: the Giant's message. 

Can anyone think of good Lacanian readings of Twin Peaks?  I'd be interested in seeing if any of this was mentioned. 

Sorry if I ask a stupid question, but my level of English it´s not good enough to be 100% sure about everything I read... Re-reading the original script I noticed there´s a brief note before Windom recites Johnstone´s verses:

Earle moves towards her. Annie screams, terrified. Behind her the doorway to the Lodge begins to open, a hole in space. Earle is crazed with joy. A benediction.

EARLE: "I tell you they have not died. Their hands clasp yours and mine."

Is the word "benediction" telling us what Windom says is like a prayer or something similar? Otherwise, I don´t understand the meaning of that word in that context...

Thanks for the explanation, 12rainbow!

Very interesting this potential Lacanian reading of Twin Peaks... I shall investigate about this whether I find something interesting I´ll write it down here!