If I say
this or that,
how ordinary grief becomes –
broken cries are the words
that sorrow’s voice demands
~Izumi Shikibu*
*cited:
The Ink Dark Moon
Trans: J Hirshfield & M Aratani
life’s passages … 87
japanese poetry
life’s passages … 86
How peaceful is
Every single dawn;
I gaze out, yet
Still in the depths of night
I dream…a grief, indeed.
~Princess Shokushi*
life’s passages … 44
The depth 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*
*cited:
life’s passages … 38
Day by day, day by day, and day by day,
quietly in the company of children I live,
In my sleeves, tiny embroidered balls, two or three.
Useless, intoxicated, in this peaceful spring.~Ryokan*
*cited:
Sky Above, Great Wind
K Tanahashi
life’s passages … 4
See and realize
that this world
is not permanent.
Neither late nor early flowers
will remain.
~Ryokan*
*cited:
Sky Above, Great Wind
Trans: K Tanahashi
solitude
The traveler goes on,
His sleeves blowing back and forth
With the autumn wind,
And the evening sun sheds lonely light
Upon the bridge suspended between the cliffs.
–Miner, Introduction to Japanese Court Poetry, 115
untitled 6221
In the summer night
The evening still seems present,
But the dawn is here.
To what region of the clouds
Has the wandering moon come home?
~Kiyohara no Fukayabu*
*cited: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu 100 Poems by 100 Poets
lens-artist photo challenge: natural light
Like the morning moon,
Cold, unpitying was my love.
And since we parted,
I dislike nothing so much
As the breaking light of day. ~Mibu no Tadamine
In the peaceful light
Of the ever-shining sun
In the days of spring,
Why do the cherry’s new-blown blooms
Scatter like restless thoughts? ~Ki no Tomonori
This week Amy invites photographers to share their work using natural light.
for you who rarely visit…
for you who
rarely visit,
though you have already arrived,
may the early evening storm
not blow so hard!
~Ryokan*
*cited:
Sky Above, Great Wind
K Tanahashi
initially posted on September 1, 2015
summer night
In the summer night
The evening still seems present,
But the dawn is here.
To what region of the clouds
Has the wandering moon come home?
~ Kiyohara no Fukayabu (cited: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu)
princess nukada
Nikon D750 f/5.6 1//400s 300mm 640 ISO
When spring escapes
freed from being huddled in winter’s sleep,
the birds that had been stilled
burst into song.
The buds that had been hidden
burst into flower.
The mountains are so thickly forested
that we cannot reach the flowers
and the flowers are so tangled with vines
that we cannot pick them.
When the maple leaves turn scarlet
on the autumn hills,
it is easy to gather them
and enjoy them.
We sigh over the green leaves
but leave them as they are.
That is my only regret–
so I prefer the autumn hills.
~Princess Nukada – 7th Century (K Rexroth I Atsumi, The Burning Heart*)
*note: Princess Nukada lived in the later half of the 7th Century. She was the daughter of Prince Kagami, wife and the favorite of Emperor Temmu.
the new sanctuary coalition
Thinking of the world
Sleeves wet with tears are my bed-fellows.
Calmly to dream sweet dreams–
There is no night for that. ~Izumi Shikibu (Diaries of Court Ladies of Old
The New Sanctuary Coalition’s call for action:
We are resolved to form a U.S. Caravan of supporters who will meet the Central American Caravan in Mexico, witness their movement, and accompany them into the U.S. At the border, we will assist those seeking entry with their demands to enter the US without losing their liberty
Hate speech and violence have crept into our communities with the targeting of synagogues, churches and other houses of worship and murders of their congregations. We want and need to stop this violence and we are calling you to stand with us, to put your bodies on the line.
The right to migrate is fundamental. Without it, the right to work, to be free, to live, cannot be realized. We reaffirm our conviction that every member of the Central American Caravan has an inalienable human right to flee from violence and poverty and toward better economic and political conditions elsewhere, regardless of national boundaries. We submit that they possess a right to enter and remain in the U.S. equal to anyone born there.
It has become amoral to engage in neutrality or silence on the right to migrate. On this issue there is a right side of history and a wrong side – but there is no middle. Each of us is morally obliged to choose such a side. The law will either make human beings illegal, or it will legalize equality, but it cannot accomplish both. The world is asking you to choose a side.
The New Sanctuary Coalition is resolved to choose the side of liberty and equality. We are resolved to sacrifice in solidarity with those leaders of liberty and pioneers of equality who are nonviolently asserting their right to migrate by moving their caravan of brave souls across the U.S./Mexican border.
If you are a lawyer, join our legal community. If you are a faith leader, join our clergy group. If you are a person of conscience, join our local organizing in your state. Click here to tell us how you would like to get involved and we will connect you with an organizing community that matches your skills and interests.
Sanctuary Caravan at NSC
http://www.sanctuarycaravan.org/
a meditative journey 
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