Wormley

think I

‘I think, therefore, I am.’ - backwards. Cute. But deep? As iambic monometer, this reversal of the usual order fits the bill, whereas the familiar forward ‘I think ’ would be a trochee, accent- unaccented. But McGuiness is about second meanings, always. The roots of the meter terms are telling. As ‘iamb’ means to ‘assail’ to ‘attack’ and ‘trochee’ means ‘run’, it is not surprising that McGuiness elects to attack. Secondly, McGuiness never questions his own existence nor would he allow anyone else to question his right to exist. He exhorts others to likewise: Whereas, the original forward form is a philosophic argument structured to answer a posed question, “Do we exist?”, McGuiness lashes out with an alternative: “If you want to prove your own existence by the experience of pain or possibly lose it, then dare to question my existence - or threaten it. I exist and don’t forget it. I am. Therefore, you think before you question my existence.” I am. He exists. For that reason, and that reason alone, he thinks. An up front, first order of business, biblical quote of God : I am. I am. A given. A Jeffersonian truth self evident with a poetical second layer, “ Iamb ”. Monometer. ‘One measure’. One choice. McGuiness. ‘ Think I ’. An instruction to others to think of ‘ I ’, that is of their own self worth.