tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post3981269142136597449..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: NowStephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-70050848503725920502021-08-27T23:03:10.226-07:002021-08-27T23:03:10.226-07:00Esther: Thank you for your follow-up thoughts. Ye...Esther: Thank you for your follow-up thoughts. Yes, I suppose there is a wistfulness in my thoughts about Japan. I am no doubt romanticizing a lost world and life of nearly 30 years ago. Who knows how I would feel if I were there now? But I do hope to visit again some day.<br /><br />Regarding seeing hotaru, I lived in Tokyo (in Kinuta) for a year, but during that time (and on several subsequent visits) I had occasion to stay in Mitaka. The house where I stayed was located near Nogawa Kōen, and I often went for walks or runs along the Nogawa. As you know, "rivers" in Tokyo usually flow in concrete channels. However, the Nogawa did have some short bucolic stretches within the park. At that time, the park had an area near the river which was a nature preserve, with a meadow, wetlands, and trees, and an effort was made to provide a habitat for fireflies. This is where fireflies could be seen. (Not in the numbers that they can be seen in the countryside, of course.) Whether that area is still there, I don't know.<br /><br />Thank you very much for the reference to "Hotaru no Hikari," which I wasn't aware of. I found a version of it on YouTube: lovely.<br /><br />Thank you again for your further thoughts.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-84060476182879202472021-08-26T18:12:00.189-07:002021-08-26T18:12:00.189-07:00"The intolerable August heat of Japan" i..."The intolerable August heat of Japan" is correct! There was a strangely cool week earlier in the month when the country was inundated with rain, but the temperature and humidity are back up now, the much-appreciated cicada have been dropping like flies, and people are in the throes of "natsu-bate" (drooping from the summer heat). However, the evening bell crickets give us hope that autumn will eventually be here.<br /><br />If you saw hotaru, you must have been near some good-quality water! We have kingfishers on our local river, which is also a good sign, but I have yet to see any hotaru there. We do sing about it frequently in Japan, as you may know, since the Japanese version of Auld Lang Syne (sung at year's end and every imaginable closing ceremony) is called Hotaru no Hikari (The Light of the Firefly).<br /><br />In your replies I sometimes sense a wistfulness for Japan, and hope one day you can visit again!Esthernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-11252328009758830322021-08-22T22:13:17.691-07:002021-08-22T22:13:17.691-07:00Esther: That's an unexpected connection! As I...Esther: That's an unexpected connection! As I said in my response to GretchenJoanna's comment: when it comes to poetry, one thing leads to another. This is a perfect example. Thank you for sharing it: it is new to me. I tracked the poem down on the internet, and discovered the preceding two lines: "I am in love with him to whom a hyacinth is dearer/Than I shall ever be dear." Ah, yes.<br /><br />It's always a pleasure to hear from you. Thank you very much for visiting again. I hope you are keeping cool in the intolerable August heat of Japan. (But I recall the sound of the semi with fondness, as well as the sight of an occasional glowing hotaru beside a river or stream.) Take care.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-23679876941866068952021-08-22T21:40:43.332-07:002021-08-22T21:40:43.332-07:00GretchenJoanna: That's very nice of you to sa...GretchenJoanna: That's very nice of you to say. Thank you so much. It's always wonderful to discover that the poems I am fond of may resonate with others as well. My sole purpose in being here is to bring these beautiful things to the attention of others, and it is humbling and gratifying when they find new homes. I am only the messenger. <br /><br />With respect to the three of them appearing together, it was just happenstance. I have been revisiting Stevens and de la Mare the past few weeks, and "Now" popped into mind after a visit to "A Rabbit." Then, for some reason, Tessimond's poem bubbled up. You've heard me say this before: when it comes to poetry, one thing leads to another. At a certain point in life (if one's memory holds), perhaps all the things floating around inside us begin to make connections now and then, begin to sort themselves out. One can only hope. In any case, I'm pleased you like the poems.<br /><br /> Thank you very much for stopping by again. I hope that all is well with you and your loved ones.<br />Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-57242803951838905832021-08-22T21:12:51.752-07:002021-08-22T21:12:51.752-07:00Mr. Hill: Thank you very much for your kind words ...Mr. Hill: Thank you very much for your kind words about the post. <br /><br />That's a nice coincidence that Tessimond was from your part of the world. No need to be ashamed of not having heard of him: I happened upon him solely by chance in an anthology (I forget which one) some years ago, which led to me tracking down his work. The poem by him that is usually anthologized is "Where?," which includes the lines: "Perhaps your country is where you think you will find it./Or perhaps it has not yet come or perhaps it has gone.//. . . Perhaps you will find it where you alone can see it,/But if you can see it, though no one else can, it will be there,/It will be yours." I was lucky to stumble upon him. He is unjustly neglected. The edition of his Collected Poems that I cited in the post appears to be readily available. I highly recommend it.<br /><br />As for de la Mare: I cannot say enough about him. My affection for him has continued to grow over the years. By the way, I was delighted to recently discover that Faber published a new book about him earlier this year: Reading Walter de la Mare by William Wootten. It contains a selection of his poems, nicely annotated with background information by Mr. Wootten. Given the state of culture these days, I was heartened that Faber would undertake such a venture. There are occasional glimmers of hope.<br /><br />As ever, thank you for visiting, and for sharing your thoughts.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-72073417509406864392021-08-21T20:51:05.884-07:002021-08-21T20:51:05.884-07:00Stevens worrying about the rabbit eating the bulbs...Stevens worrying about the rabbit eating the bulbs brings to mind Edna St. Vincent Millay's Hyacinth.<br /><br />"...On nights when the field-mice are abroad he cannot sleep:<br />He hears their narrow teeth at the bulbs of his hyacinths.<br />But the gnawing at my heart he does not hear."<br /><br /> Esthernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-10876366950586129362021-08-21T17:49:17.474-07:002021-08-21T17:49:17.474-07:00You are breaking my heart! How is it you can find ...You are breaking my heart! How is it you can find <i>three</i> extravagantly sweet and evocative pieces, then be wildly generous to give them all on one day?? I will need many days merely to begin to absorb them.<br /><br />It's a pleasure to know you here. Now.GretchenJoannahttp://www.gretchenjoanna.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-10965227567351538822021-08-21T06:57:12.283-07:002021-08-21T06:57:12.283-07:00Beautiful consolations again, thank you. To my sha...Beautiful consolations again, thank you. To my shame, I have never heard of Tessimond even though he went to school across the River Mersey from where I live, and he went to our university. What a fine piece that is from him.<br /><br />Always Stevens, of course, but your regular references to de la Mare have led me to recognise his graceful poetic mind and the compassion he had for us in the world. That he should have shown such capacity for joy so close to death is very touching.<br />Anthony Hillnoreply@blogger.com