Zen Poem
by Ikkyū (1394-1481)
Rain and hail, snow and ice
Are divided from one another;
But after they fall,
They are the same water
Of the stream in the valley.
Photo: “Zen Snow” by Holly Garner-Jackson, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the poet’s Wikipedia biography here.
CLOUD HAIKU
by Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)
The clouds come and go,
providing a rest for all
the moon viewers.
Photo: Elliot Severn, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
DECEMBER MOON
by May Sarton
Before going to bed
After a fall of snow
I look out on the field
Shining there in the moonlight
So calm, untouched and white
Snow silence fills my head
After I leave the window.
Hours later near dawn
When I look down again
The whole landscape has changed
The perfect surface gone
Criss-crossed and written on
Where the wild creatures ranged
While the moon rose and shone.
Why did my dog not bark?
Why did I hear no sound
There on the snow-locked ground
In the tumultuous dark?
How much can come, how much can go
When the December moon is bright,
What worlds of play we’ll never know
Sleeping away the cold white night
After a fall of snow.
Painting: Phoenix Arts Group, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MAGPIE’S SONG
by Gary Snyder
Six A.M.,
Sat down on excavation gravel
by juniper and desert S.P. tracks
interstate 80 not far off
between trucks
Coyotes—maybe three
howling and yapping from a rise.
Magpie on a bough
Tipped his head and said,
“Here in the mind, brother
Turquoise blue.
I wouldn’t fool you.
Smell the breeze
It came through all the trees
No need to fear
What’s ahead
Snow up on the hills west
Will be there every year
be at rest.
A feather on the ground–
The wind sound—
Here in the Mind, Brother,
Turquoise Blue”
Photo: “Magpie in the Sky,” shot with pinhole camera by Gwen Deanne, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
“Magpie’s Song” by Gary Snyder is included in BRIGHT WINGS: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds, Edited by Billy Collins with Paintings by David Allen Sibley. This inspiring book is available at Amazon.com. Highly recommended!
“Rarely has poetry and art been so deftly partnered….A truly impressive anthology.” THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
WHACK
by Gary Snyder
Green pinecone flakes
pulled, gnawed clean around,
wobbling, slowly falling
scattering on the ground,
whack the roof.
Tree-top squirrel feasts
–twitchy pine boughs.
“Whack” is found in Gary Snyder’s 2004 collection DANGER ON PEAKS, available at Amazon.com.
PHOTO: “Squirrel Snacks on Pine Cone” by Dixxe Bell, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COOL CLAY
by Gary Snyder
In a swarm of yellowjackets
a squirrel drinks water
feet in the cool clay, head way down
Photo: Shirley Leighton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
“Cool Clay” is found in Gary Snyder‘s 2004 collection DANGER ON PEAKS, published by Shoemaker Hoard, available at Amazon.com.
WHACK
by Gary Snyder
Green pinecone flakes
pulled, gnawed clean around,
wobbling, slowly falling
scattering on the ground,
whack the roof.
Tree-top squirrel feasts
–twitchy pine boughs.
###
“Whack” is found in Gary Snyder’s 2004 collection DANGER ON PEAKS, available at Amazon.com.
PHOTO: “Squirrel Snacks on Pine Cone” by Dixxe Bell, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COOL CLAY
by Gary Snyder
In a swarm of yellowjackets
a squirrel drinks water
feet in the cool clay, head way down
Photo: Shirley Leighton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
“Cool Clay” is found in Gary Snyder‘s 2004 collection DANGER ON PEAKS, published by Shoemaker Hoard, available at Amazon.com.
CLOUD HAIKU
by Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)
The clouds come and go,
providing a rest for all
the moon viewers.
Photo: Elliot Severn, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MAGPIE’S SONG
by Gary Snyder
Six A.M.,
Sat down on excavation gravel
by juniper and desert S.P. tracks
interstate 80 not far off
between trucks
Coyotes—maybe three
howling and yapping from a rise.
Magpie on a bough
Tipped his head and said,
“Here in the mind, brother
Turquoise blue.
I wouldn’t fool you.
Smell the breeze
It came through all the trees
No need to fear
What’s ahead
Snow up on the hills west
Will be there every year
be at rest.
A feather on the ground–
The wind sound—
Here in the Mind, Brother,
Turquoise Blue”
Photo: “Magpie in the Sky,” shot with pinhole camera by Gwen Deanne, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
“Magpie’s Song” by Gary Snyder is included in BRIGHT WINGS: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds, Edited by Billy Collins with Paintings by David Allen Sibley. This gorgeous, uplifting, inspiring book is available at Amazon.com. Highly recommended!
“Rarely has poetry and art been so deftly partnered….A truly impressive anthology.” THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
Silver Birch Press 