LITTLE YELLOW FLOWER
by Matsuo Bashō
Slender, so slender
its stalk bends under dew –
little yellow flower
Photo: James Jordan, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Archives for posts with tag: Zen poem
zen and the snow shovel
by Debby J. Rosenberg
silence but for the scrape
of a blade across concrete
the icy crackle as boots
pressed into the dry powder
and cheeks rosy exposed
themselves to the arctic
chill
how like a human
trying to control the
path, clearing it of
frosty debris
silence was all around
winter had descended
burying bushes
under white blankets
the breath expressed
with a misty vapor
exposing the ether
of alive
the sound, the smell
the touch, and the sight
was glorious for a moment
and felt like the waves of
nature’s disposition conspiring
its sustainable existence
and all I have is a shovel
Photo: Kay Ellen, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
How beautiful –
Red peppers
After the autumn gale.
YOSA BUSON
PHOTO: Len McAlpine, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
AUTUMN
by Taigu Ryōkan (1758-1831)
My beloved friend
You and I had a sweet talk,
Long ago, one autumn night.
Renewing itself
The year has rumbled along,
That night still in memory.
Illustration: “Early Autumn” by Qian Xuan (1235-1305)
AUTUMN POEM
by Taigu Ryōkan
Showing its underside,
showing its face
a falling maple leaf.
Photo: “Falling red maple leaves, Boone County, Missouri” From the postcard book: Sierra Club Nature in Close-Up. ©Gay Bumgarner,1988, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Contact the photographer at her website gaybumgarner.com. Find the 160-page book at Amazon here.
zen and the snow shovel
by Debby J. Rosenberg
silence but for the scrape
of a blade across concrete
the icy crackle as boots
pressed into the dry powder
and cheeks rosy exposed
themselves to the arctic
chill
how like a human
trying to control the
path, clearing it of
frosty debris
silence was all around
winter had descended
burying bushes
under white blankets
the breath expressed
with a misty vapor
exposing the ether
of alive
the sound, the smell
the touch, and the sight
was glorious for a moment
and felt like the waves of
nature’s disposition conspiring
its sustainable existence
and all I have is a shovel
Photo: Kay Ellen, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
“And then the car was beside him, not idling but panting like a deadly animal which may or may not be tamed.” STEPHEN KING, The Stand
Photo: Java1888, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Note: The above photo of man and car belongs to Java1888, who states on Flickr.com: “I recently found this awesome 50s photo album at an antique store. Its full of extremely hip 50s people and their stuff!”
The dashing man in the cool suit and jaunty hat is a few years pre-Mad Men. My best guess is that car is a 1957 Ford Fairlane (a model sold from 1955-1970). While reading about Ford Fairlanes on Wikipedia, I was inspired to turn some of the words into the zen poem featured below.
ZEN POEM:
1957 FORD FAIRLANE
by Wikipedia
For 1957, a new style gave
a longer, wider, lower,
and sleeker look
with low tailfins.
early morning wind
in the umbrella
of the pumpkin stand
MARLENE MOUNTAIN
Photo: Bienatole, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Dragonfly on a rock —
absorbed in
a daydream
by SANTOKA TANEDA
Photo: “Dragonfly on the Rocks” by Kesha Linehan, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
How beautiful —
Red peppers
After the autumn gale.
YOSA BUSON
PHOTO: Len McAlpine, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Silver Birch Press 