I walked on. A few minutes later, I remembered this (which has appeared here in the past):
On Something Observed
Torn remains of a cobweb,
one strand dangling down --
a stray petal fluttering by
has been tangled, caught in its skein,
all day to dance and turn,
never once resting --
elsewhere in my garden,
no breeze stirs.
Kokan Shiren (1278-1346) (translated by Burton Watson), in Burton Watson, Japanese Literature in Chinese, Volume II: Poetry and Prose in Chinese by Japanese Writers of the Later Period (Columbia University Press 1976), page 27. Kokan Shiren was a Zen Buddhist monk.
So goes our brief stay in Paradise.
Josephine Haswell Miller (1890-1975), "Studio Window" (1934)
4 comments:
Ah, yes…. and the things that “happen” here on your blog are typically that sublime.
Thank you.
Lovely image that one golden needle.
GretchenJoanna: That's very nice of you to say. Thank you so much. Of course, as I have said in the past, I am merely the messenger bearing the poems and paintings that appear here. Where would I be without, for instance, Kokan Shiren, Burton Watson, and Josephine Haswell Miller? And, most importantly, where would I be without the beautiful particulars of the World?
Again, thank you very much for your kind words. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.
hart: Yes, I was quite surprised by coming across it -- suddenly, out of the blue. As I said in my reply to GretchenJoanna's comment: where would I be without the beautiful particulars of the World? I am usually sleepwalking through the World, but the World always has a way of making itself known, whether I am dozing or not!
Thank you very much for your thought. And, as ever, thank you very much for visiting.
Post a Comment