Clik here to view.
"Unless, While With Admiring Eye We Gaze, We Also Learn To Love"
As I noted in my previous post, William Wordsworth is prone to high-flown rhetoric and prolixity. But I am willing to cut him some slack. Why? Because I have always felt that his poetry is animated...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Christmastide
In childhood, Christmas is a time of expectation and anticipation. At some point -- ah, when? -- it becomes a time of reminiscence and reflection. But I suppose that sounds a great deal like Life in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ice And Stars
Here we are "in the bleak mid-winter." I realize that, by the calendar, winter began just a week ago. But, as a matter of emotion, it feels as though winter begins sometime in mid- to late-November,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A New Year
How one takes the following New Year's haiku depends upon one's disposition. I choose to take it in good humor, with a touch of wistfulness. I intendedNever to grow old, -- But the temple bell...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Sparrow. A Fluttering Thing.
Any time is a good time to contemplate the fleeting nature of our life. But the beginning of a new year is an especially appropriate time to do so. There is a sense of the slate having been wiped...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Skylark
I have always been fond of sparrows -- those dappled, cheerful, humble creatures. So the thought of the soul as a sparrow passing "from cold to cold" during our flitting, fleeting time on earth is,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Singing In The Night
In recent years, scenes from past dreams have begun to float into my mind during my waking hours. Not entire dream sequences, but brief snippets: a room, a landscape, a face. When they first arrive,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Partridges At Twilight And Summer Grasses
On the one hand, the news of the world counsels us, on a daily basis: Abandon all hope! On the other hand, the modern gods of Science, Progress, and utopian political schemes whisper in our ear: We...
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Balances"
I am troubled by the extent to which contemporary society and culture have become politicized. In particular, I am concerned that the standard of judgment for thoughts, words, and deeds has become a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crickets And Grasshoppers
A few days ago, I came across this poem by Saigyo (1118-1190):At that timeon my pillowunder roots of mugwort,then too may these insectscheer me with friendly notes.Saigyo (translated by Burton Watson),...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Enchanted Or Disenchanted, Part Three: "Blessed Is He That Has Come To The...
I came across this poem a week or so ago and it keeps returning to me.Were we sure of seeinga moon like thisin existences to come,who would be sorryto leave this life?Saigyo (1118-1190) (translated by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Companions
As I walked through the backyard a few days ago, it was full of twitterings and snatches of song. Sparrows, chickadees, robins, starlings? I'm no expert on these ornithological matters. Besides, as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Starlings
In some quarters, starlings are viewed as pests, particularly when they congregate in massive flocks. And there is no doubt that they can make quite a racket, even in small groups. But if you watch...
View ArticleClik here to view.
At Rest
In order to live well, we must come to terms with the fact of our own mortality. Easier said than done, of course. I can blithely write "come to terms with," which perhaps gives the impression that I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Daffodils
This past week I saw the first daffodils of the year, and, beside them, the first crocuses. Over the weekend, a couple of neighbors mowed their lawns. (The hum of lawnmowers in the distance on a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lanterns And Candles
The following poems share a common image: a solitary gleam of light amid the darkness of night. I am not clever enough to tie the poems together through explicative sleight of hand. However, now...
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Love, What It Is"
What is love? I haven't a clue. I'd like to think that I have experienced it. But who really knows?Call me a coward, but I tend to think that love is one of those experiences that are so intimately...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Abstention
As I have noted on previous occasions, each generation believes that the World is going to Hell in a handbasket. How could it be otherwise? Whether it arrives via a footsore messenger, a sailing ship...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spring
The magnolias are blossoming. As are the cherries and plums and pears. "Loveliest of trees, the cherry now . . ." But more on that in a moment.The following ode by Horace begins as a paean to spring....
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Strange How The Count Of Time Revalues Things!"
The smallest things can evoke the essence of a season. Or of a life. This past Sunday, a cloudless day, I was walking on the bluffs above Puget Sound, which glittered in the west. As I walked past a...
View Article