poetry

Umwelt

The depths of the hearts
Of humankind cannot be known.
But in my birthplace
The plum blossoms smell the same
As in the years gone by.

~Ki no Tsurayuki

shapes-22web shapes-23web

The video below was created by Yoshiyuki Katayama and cited at Aeon.com. Please gift yourself with this amazing visual journey with nature.

A term introduced by the Baltic German biologist Jakob von Uexküll in 1909, Umwelt refers to an organism’s internal and limited perceptual experience of the external world. This stunning experimental exploration of the concept from the Japanese artist Yoshiyuki Katayama contrasts flowers blooming at time-lapse speeds with insects and spiders atop them, captured in real time. As these two organisms move at what appear to be similar speeds, the viewer is reminded of the disparate timescales on which they usually operate, and the very different evolutionary goals that they pursue even as they interact with one another.

Umwelt from Yoshiyuki KATAYAMA on Vimeo.

snow shadows

Olden memories

so brisk

in their fading,

this moment soon to follow —

shadows on the snow

Nikon D750 f/5 1/4,000s 83mm ISO 800

forgotten

Who lives there,

learning such loneliness? —

mountain village

where rains drench down

from an evening sky

~Saigyo O (B Watson, Poems of a Mountain Home)

It is a joy to be hidden and a disaster not to be found
~Winnicott

Old and Poor: American’s Forgotten

white waves

Over the wide sea
As I sail and look around,
It appears to me
That the white waves, far away,
Are the ever shining sky.

~Fujiwara no Tadamichi (1097-1164)

horizonallines-2web

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Benjamin : Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in plastics.
Think about it. Will you think about it? ~The Graduate

trees talk to…

Though we are parted,
If on Mount Inaba’s peak
I should hear the sound
Of the pine trees growing there,
I’ll come back again to you.

~Ariwara no Yukihira

Nikon D750 f/4.5 1/40 56mm

The National Forest Foundation will plant a tree for every $1 you give to their tree-planting programs. Their website notes a goal of planting 50 million trees by 2023.

Suzanne Simard’s research has given us insight into how trees communicate their needs and send each other nutrients through an elaborate system which she has compared to neural networks in the human brain.

I hope you enjoy this TED Talk, How Trees Talk to Each Other

content to stay

The wild geese yet

Are content to stay —

And must you return

~Otomo Oemaru (F Bowers, The Classic Traditions of Haiku)

Nikon D750 f/5.6 1/320s 300mm

a gathering

after the geese depart
back to normal…
Sumida River

~Issa (www.haikuguy.com)

Nikon D750 f/5.6 1/230s 300mm

wpc: weathered

Not for stilts

but as a cane

bamboo serves me now,

I who call to mind

the games of childhood.

~Saigyo (B Watson, Poems of a Mountain Home)

winterleafweb
Weathered

a heart that was deeply wounded

brendakofford_dandelionproject9118b-web The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn around, you can see the land. The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don’t wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy. When one tree in the garden is sick, you have to care for it. But don’t overlook all the healthy trees. Even while you have pain in your heart, you can enjoy the many wonders of life — the beautiful sunset, the smile of a child, the many flowers and trees. To suffer is not enough. Please don’t be imprisoned by your suffering. … When you have suffered, you know how to appreciate the elements of paradise that are present. If you dwell only in your suffering, you will miss paradise. Don’t ignore your suffering, but don’t forget to enjoy the wonders of life. For your sake and the benefit of many beings.

When I was young, I wrote this poem. I penetrated the heart of the Buddha with a heart that was deeply wounded.

My youth
an unripe plum.
Your teeth have left their marks on it.
The tooth marks still vibrate.
I remember always,
remember always

Since I learned how to love you,
the door of my soul has been left wide open
in the winds of the four directions.
Reality calls for change.
The fruit of awareness is already ripe,
and the door can never be closed again.

Fire consumes this century,
and mountains and forest bear its mark.
The wind howls across my ears,
while the whole sky shakes violently in the snowstorm.

Winter’s wounds lie still,
Missing the frozen blade,
Restless, tossing and turning
in agony all night.

I grew up in a time of war…Once the door of awareness has been opened, you cannot close it. The wounds of war in me are still not all healed. … Embrace your suffering, and let it reveal to you the way to peace.

~Thich Nhat Hanh (The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, pp. 3-5)