art

out of the depths of the willow

Sweet and sad

like love overwhelmed

with long sighs,

out of the depths of the willow

little by little

the moon appears.

                               ~Tosano Akiko*

5.1 mm f/9.1 1/30 sec ISO 80
6 mm f/8.5 1/20 sec ISO 80

*cited:

Women Poets of Japan

K Rexroth & I Atsumi

solitary evergreen

I can no longer tell dream from reality.

Into what world shall I awake

from this bewildering dream?

                                 ~Akazome Emon (?-1027)*

solitary evergreen

solitary evergreen

*cited:

Women Poets of Japan

K Rexroth & I Atsumi

floating

This body

grown fragile, floating,

a reed cut from its roots…

If a stream would ask me

to follow, I’d go, I think.

                               ~Ono No Komachi*

Horsetooth Reservoir

Horsetooth Reservoir

*cited:

The Ink Dark Moon

J Hirshfield & M Aratani

in its own true nature

A fish cannot drown in water,

A bird does not fall in air.

In the fire of its making,

Gold doesn’t vanish:

The fire brightens.

Each creature God made

Must live in its own true nature;

How could I resist my nature, 

That lives for oneness with God.

                                     ~Mechtild of Magdeburg*

spring creek trail
blossoms
spring creek
spring
transition

*cited:

Women in Praise of the Sacred

J Hirshfield