At the beginning of this year, yonjuhachironin, from Budo Blues weblog, asked his visitors to submit little haiku poems that he would unite, and create a big poem. I offered my donation, and waited to see what he created. It was a wondrous poem filled with hope, and light. I fell in love with the beauty of this collective poem, and I would like to share it with you in it's edited form. I have yonjuhachironin's permission to post the poem here. Please enjoy:
Graceful emptiness
Shadows of barren branches
Sunrise on the snow
Flowers sleep beneath the cold
Dreams reach through the frozen dark
A year of promise
New horizons emerging
Looking ahead now
Predictions set like the moon
Peeking from behind the clouds
The past falls away
Lurching and dragging its corpse
The future leaps, waltzes in
The harmony of the spheres
Music for a dancing mind
Fleeting winds of time
Past’s gentle touch, then strength flows
Seeds hope in silence
Potent beads of effort rain
Joy and grief create new life
Time continues on
Seeking, learning, forgetting too
Advancing forward
Encourage brilliance to enter
Embrace it, live it, enjoy.
Beauty and calmness
Sunlight on cherry blossoms
Dawn’s possibility
Upcoming days filling with light,
progress, peace, and potential
Nighttime visions fade
Smiling children awaken
Morning has broken
If you would like to see the unedited version you can visit his weblog here:
Budo Blues
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
So often big thoughts
Are shared by speaking about
Very simple things.
Very nice poem. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome, Steve.
I agree that it's amazing to capture so much with so few words.
The honor goes to Yonjuhachironin for suggesting the idea, and being the 'sosho'. He was the one who edited our attempts at contributions to create the simplicity, and unity of the poem. I just feel thrilled that I can see my fingerprint of images, and words contained within the whole thing.
Have you ever read the poetry of William Carlos Williams? He's one of my favorites.
I checked out William Carlos Williams , and found a few of his poems on the internet. He's a little too simple in his poems for my liking.
I can see how some people would enjoy his poetry, but for me I like a different feel to the flow of words than what he has to offer..
Personally, I enjoy much the same aesthetic in his poetry that I enjoy in Asian art. There is more to his poetry than is at first apparent. He creates extremely vivid imagery, and his choice of vocabulary is carefully considered. He was also at the forefront of modern, freeform poetry, and you'll find that the line stops, pauses and breaks in his poems are as carefully considered as the rest. This creates a sort of lyricism in the reading of the poem and also makes the poem a kind of visual art form, as well.
When I read his poetry, I think very much of an asian artistic aesthetic, enjoying the complexity that belies a simple presentation: The six persimmons (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/97827139_d4b177fe08.jpg)
or any of the countless celebrated zen paintings (another one of my favorites: http://www.indiana.edu/~easc/resources/korea_slides/painting/slides/IMG0040.htm) noted for the skill and effortless complexity of technique often overlooked because of their superficial simplicity.
Maybe I just didn't get a good sample of his poetry to be able to get a grasp of his skill.. I have to admit that I was only able to read 3 of the selections available.
I'm having troubles getting to the persimmons picture, Steve. Am I getting the Url correct?
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/97827139_d4b177fe08
Try this link: http://www.wisdomportal.com/Art/Persimmons.jpeg
The six persimmons is a very famous zen painting, so as an alternative, a quick google image search of "six persimmons" will give you many hits.
I've always responded to simple elegance, where much is said in short, simple terms. I think it's because it's a quality I lack, and consequently admire... I'm definitely chatty and my art tends to be busy and full, devoid of negative space.
Post a Comment