“Real haiku is the soul of poetry.
Anything that is not actually
present in one’s heart is not haiku.
The moon glows, flowers bloom, insects cry, water flows.
There is no place we cannot find flowers or think of the moon.
This is the essence of haiku.
Go beyond the restrictions of your era,
forget about purpose or meaning,
separate yourself from historical limitations
—there you will find the essence of true art, religion, and science.”

~ Santōka Taneda

HIDDEN MUSIC

With love you cannot bargain
there, the choice is not yours.
Love is a mirror, it reflects
only your essence, if you have the
courage to look in its face.

To the parched lips of those who
are willing to surrender
Love will bring the wine that
changes darkness into vision,
cruelty into compassion and dust
into precious incense.

Love means to reach for the sky
and with every breath to tear a
hundred veils. Love means to step
away from the ego, to open the eyes
of inner vision and not to take this
world so seriously.

Like a thief, reason sneaked in and
sat amongst the lovers
eager to give them advice.
They were unwilling to listen, so
reason kissed their feet
and went on its way.

When you plant a tree
every leaf that grows will tell
you, what you sow will bear fruit.
So…