Tree
Within a tree
another tree that is not yet,
and now the upper branches shift in the wind.
Within the blue sky
another blue sky that is not yet,
and now the horizon is rent by a bird in flight.
Within a body
another body that is not yet,
and now the shrine gathers blood.
Within a road
another road that is not yet,
and now that space is shaken by my destination.
–Kora Rumiko
“Life can certainly have meaning without books, but books cannot have meaning without life. Most of us probably share a belief that life is greatly enriched by them: life goes into books and books go back into life. But the relationship is not equal or symmetrical. Nonetheless what is in them not only adds to life, but genuinely goes back into life and transforms it, so that life as we live it in a world full of books is created partly by books themselves.”
~I McGilchrist, The Master and his Emissary
“…the power of attraction exerted by totalitarian thinking, whether of the left or of the right, does not belong to the past…
When a writer strives to present reality most faithfully he becomes convinced that the untruth is at times the greatest truth. The world is so rich and so complex that the more one tries not to omit any part of the truth, the more one uncovers wonders that elude the pen.
…
Eyes that have seen should not be shut; hands that have touched should not forget when they take up the pen.”
~Czeslaw, Milosz: The Captive Mind
Spring departs –
the clear moon oblivious
of passing time
~Soseki (S Carter, Haiku before Haiku)
this image of a dandelion is submitted in response to Lost in Translation’s photo challenge.
Lumix GX8 f/18 1.6s 32mm
Ah, for blossoms-
to bring gusts of wind
to my summer garden
~Sogi*
*cited:
Haiku before Haiku
Trans: S. Carter
overwhelming
my memory-
blossoms at dusk
~Shohaku*
separate ways
*cited:
Haiku before Haiku
Trans: S Carter
a long hard journey
rain beating down the meadow
like a wanderer’s feet
this print and others are available through Fine Art
This life of ours would not cause you sorrow
if you thought of it as like
the mountain cherry blossoms
which bloom and fade in a day.
~Murasaki Shikibu*
catching rain drops l
this print and others are now available through Fine Art America
*cited:
Women Poets of Japan
K Rexroth & I Atsumi
how can I blame the cherry blossoms
for rejecting this floating world
and drifting away as the wind calls them?
~Shunzei’s Daughter*
*cited:
Women Poets of Japan
K Rexroth & I Atsumi
It began last summer…an obsession with the globe-shaped plumed heads of the dandelion and salisify. While both are rejected by landscape artists, these “wishies'” unique characteristics result in amazing macro images.
Additional images submitted for this week’s challenge can be found at Muse
a meditative journey 
You must be logged in to post a comment.