Spring Moon 2
—Photo by Katy Brown
—Katy Brown, Davis
The moon burns a cold hole
in the sky tonight,
igniting the shredding clouds
in shades of rust and sulfur.
Sleep won’t come
under such a sky as this,
thick with portent:
somewhere a night bird cries.
The ghostly owl sways
in the top of the slender cypress.
A distant train whistle calls twice.
No, sleep won’t come,
no matter how many times
you count sheep, or blessings,
or all the words for wonder.
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Thanks, Katy Brown, for the poem and pix. Katy says: I loved that Taylor Graham wrote a poem connected to mine [see Wednesday's post]. Here is an offering to keep the exchange going... Our Seed of the Week is still In the Hollow of Night; here are some poems from the tenth century about that:
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THREE POEMS ON THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE
—Lady Izumi Shikibu (Japan, c. 970-1030)
1.
From one darkness
into another darkness
I soon must go.
Light the long way before me,
moon on the mountain rim!
2.
Being a person
whom no one will mourn when gone,
I should perhaps
say for myself while still here—
"Ah, the pity, the pity."
3.
So forlorn am I
that when I see a firefly
out on the marshes
it looks like my soul rising
from my body in longing.
(trans. from the Japanese by Steven D. Carter)
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IF SOMEONE WOULD COME
—Lady Izumi Shikibu
If someone would come,
I could show, and have him listen—
evening light shining
on bush clover in full bloom
as crickets bring on the night.
(trans. by Steven D. Carter)
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IN MY IDLENESS
—Lady Izumi Shikibu
In my idleness
I turn to look at the sky—
though it's not as if
the man I'm waiting for
will descend from the heavens.
(trans. by Steven D. Carter)
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TANGLED HAIR
—Lady Izumi Shikibu
With not a thought
for my black hair's disarray,
I lay myself down—
soon longing for the one whose hands
have so often brushed it smooth.
(trans. by Steven D. Carter)
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THREE POEMS ON LOVE
—Lady Izumi Shikibu
1.
On nights when hail
falls noisily
on bamboo leaves
I completely hate
to sleep alone.
2.
You told me it was
because of me
you gazed at the moon.
I've come to see
if this is true.
3.
If you love me,
come. The road
I live on
is not forbidden
by impetuous gods.
(trans. by Willis Barnstone)
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AUTUMN, ON RETREAT AT A MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
—Lady Izumi Shikibu
Although I try
to hold the single thought
of Buddha's teaching in my heart,
I cannot help but hear
the many crickets' voices calling as well.
(trans. by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani)
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Today's LittleNip:
ALTHOUGH THE WIND
—Lady Izumi Shikibu
Although the wind
blows terribly here,
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house.
(trans. by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani)
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—Medusa
Midnight Butterfly
—Photo by Katy Brown