The Poetry Corner

[Pangu]

Its interesting because the words of His Imperial Majesty ushers some truth in this age.
I hope, and I pray, that the internal yearning for peace is realized, and maintained, however.
May both China and Japan find that calm stream--- that we so desire.

I absolutely agree, lets hope the clashing waves do not force our minds, from the calm currents beneath that builds our ties.

 

[Aepsilons]

I absolutely agree, lets hope the clashing waves do not force our minds, from the calm currents beneath that builds our ties.

Beautifully said, my friend.

 

[Gufi]

The knell of the bells at the Gion temple
Echoes the impermanence of all things.
The colour of the flowers on its double-trunked tree
Reveals the truth that to flourish is to fall.
He who is proud is not so for long,
Like a passing dream on a night in spring.
He who is brave is finally destroyed,
To be no more than dust before the wind.

!!! this is so deep it makes the brain want to grasp harder... Once you reach one level you find another deeper one... I have been reading this for half an hour and it just keeps changing.... !!

It was our hope
That all the world's oceans
Be joined in peace
So why do the winds and waves
Now rise up in angry rage?

Can you please find out which time did the emperor write this...

 

[Aepsilons]

!!! this is so deep it makes the brain want to grasp harder... Once you reach one level you find another deeper one... I have been reading this for half an hour and it just keeps changing.... !!

Yes, yes. It reminds me that despite man's yearning to attain more knowledge, despite how many accolades we claim, in the end, everything will degrade. Its interesting really, even now in our youth and the prime of our lives we may attain a degree of knowledge on various subjects, we, too, shall degrade in time. The myelin sheath that coats our nerves, that allows the electrical impuse to travel through the nodes of ranvier, connecting the neuromuscular apparatus --- will too degrade. As man ages, the very synthesis of knowledge and ability for man to retrieve said knowledge will betray us -- as the myelin sheath thins over time, as the oligodendrocytes perishes over time.

Such is man, my friend. Like the wheat that blossoms in spring, only to be harvested before the end of autumn. We are but dust, but sand in the breadth of time.

Humbling, isn't it?

 

[Gufi]

Humbling, isn't it?

oh but that is only the first stage of the poem, It further defines traits which can hasten the departure and the folly of traits we hold close which are at times our own doom.

Death must come but it matters more then when you die is how and what state did you die in... I m sorry i just read alot into the poem it has so many layers

 

[Aepsilons]

Death must come but it matters more then when you die is how and what state did you die in... I m sorry i just read alot into the poem it has so many layers

Ah, what an exceptional view, sadiq. Very, very deep !

 

[Gufi]

Ah, what an exceptional view, sadiq. Very, very deep !

thank you I just can never fathom how deep it must be in Japanese
can you please find when the poem by the emperor were written. Like I have mentioned the history of the Japanese is something I am really interested in and the time line of the poem can help understand why it was said. Was it during times of hardship or pain or victory. What thought was in the mind.... maybe guide me to a book or answer my question please

 

[Aepsilons]

thank you I just can never fathom how deep it must be in Japanese
can you please find when the poem by the emperor were written. Like I have mentioned the history of the Japanese is something I am really interested in and the time line of the poem can help understand why it was said. Was it during times of hardship or pain or victory. What thought was in the mind.... maybe guide me to a book or answer my question please

That poem was written by Emperor Meiji in the late 1880s, and if i were to attempt to interpret the Emperor's feelings, he was lamenting at the brutal reality of imperialism of the day; the great powers of Europe had practically swallowed most of the world and converted them to their colonies. Wars and stories of wars had taken up the news in those days, with Japan even threatened by the west, as they had done to say China, Indochina, India, the Middle East etc etc. The Emperor was innately a man for peace, in fact he was a spiritual thinker if you study his early writings prior to the Restoration. It was more so he was forced to seize the initiative because of the incapability of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the failure for them to see the importance of modernization , which the Emperor had seen as pivotal to maintaining independence.
This is seen so openly in his one poem,

"Although we live
In a world which is fraught
With turbid confusion,
Our hearts should remain filled
With an open calmness. "

@Gufi ,

if you want to read more of the Emperor Meiji's poems, please visit this wonderful site:

Meiji Jingu-About Meiji Jingu-

 

[Gufi]

if you want to read more of the Emperor Meiji's poems, please visit this wonderful site:

Thank you it clears so much... Great mind indeed to see so far ahead... cannot find the words to thank you been trying for some time now ...

 

[Aepsilons]

Thank you it clears so much... Great mind indeed to see so far ahead... cannot find the words to thank you been trying for some time now ...

No need to thank me, buddy. Its always a pleasure to interact with similar minds.

 

[Pangu]

The Song of Gaixia (垓下歌), translated as The Hegemon's Lament by Burton Watson, was a song composed by Xiang Yu while he was trapped by Liu Bang's forces at Gaixia (垓下) circa 202 BC.

《垓下歌》

力拔山兮氣蓋世.
時不利兮騅不逝.
騅不逝兮可奈何!
虞兮虞兮奈若何!

The Hegemon's Lament

My strength plucked up the hills,
My might shadowed the world;

But the times were against me,
And Dapple runs no more;

When Dapple runs no more,
What then can I do?

Ah, Yu, my Yu,
What will your fate be?

Note: Dapple is the translation of Xiang Yu's warhorse Zhui (騅)., Yu is his concubine.

 

[Pangu]

The Quatrain of Seven Steps. This poem first appeared in a classical text in 430 AD. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Pi, the Emperor of Wei, fearing his brother Cao Zhi would usurp his throne, issued an ultimatum to Cao Zhi (a brilliant poet) to prove his innocence with a poem within 7 steps. Cao Zhi's composition moved his brother & was spared.
(The English translation is a little cumbersome.)

七步诗

煮豆燃豆萁，
豆在釜中泣。
本是同根生，
相煎何太急。


The Quatrain of Seven Steps.

People burn the beanstalk to boil beans,
The beans in the pot cry out.
We are born of the selfsame root,
Why should you torment me so much?

 

[Aepsilons]

Easter Love

On Easter we celebrate love,
love coming down from heaven,
love blanketing the earth
in a transforming embrace;
unique and infinite love,
giving more than we can imagine
for us, to cleanse our sin,
a perfect sacrifice, Lamb of God,
the walking, talking Word.
He is teacher, role model, friend,
this God in human form,
dying, then rising from the dead,
proving all who believe
will also rise
to have eternal life, with Him,
Lord of all.
Oh, Happy, Happy Easter!

By Joanna Fuchs

 

[Aepsilons]

In Your Honor

Unselfishly, you left your fathers and your mothers,
You left behind your sisters and your brothers.
Leaving your beloved children and wives,
You put on hold, your dreams-your lives.
On foreign soil, you found yourself planted
To fight for those whose freedom you granted.
Without your sacrifice, their cause would be lost
But you carried onward, no matter the cost.

Many horrors you had endured and seen.
Many faces had haunted your dreams.
You cheered as your enemies littered the ground;
You cried as your brothers fell all around.

When it was over, you all came back home,
Some were left with memories to face all alone;
Some found themselves in the company of friends
As their crosses cast shadows across the land.

Those who survived were forever scarred
Emotionally, physically, permanently marred.
Those who did not now sleep eternally
'Neath the ground they had given their lives to keep free.

With a hand upon my heart, I feel The pride and respect; my reverence is revealed
In the tears that now stream down my upturned face
As our flag waves above you, in her glory and grace.
Freedom was the gift that you unselfishly gave
Pain and death was the price that you ultimately paid.
Every day, I give my utmost admiration
To those who had fought to defend our nation.

~ Author Unknown ~

 

[Vassnti]

For the dog lovers one with a special meaning for me from what now seems so long ago

We've roamed the wild country
My beautiful yellow eyes,
Side by side we've hunted
Shadows dancing on northern skies.

There have been times of plenty
We were content and serene,
Peacefully sleeping
Dangers few and far between.

We've also known much hunger
Ribs protruding from each side,
Mournfully we howled
When our starving cubs had died.

And then there was our first winter
Romping thru the glistening snow,
Tasting each crystal snowflake
Falling gently to and fro.

Ah my dear, sweet yellow eyes
I've known no greater love,
Without you, I am nothing
Our wild souls are one.

And now you lay there dying
Steel jaws upon your frame,
Life's blood slowly seeping
I whimper your sweet name.

Helpless, I watch you struggle
Chest heaving with labored breath,
Steel jaws clenching tighter
Winds whisper the song of death.

The blood has now stopped flowing
I know the time is near,
And you will forever leave me
My love, my life, my dear.

And now my world is silent
Your struggles now have ceased,
I lay my head upon you
And know you are at peace.

Perhaps your soul has lifted
To skies where eagles soar,
And there you'll greet your brothers
To run with them forever more.

And someday I shall find you
In the heaven's so far above,
And when our wild soul's unite
There'll be no greater love.
Jinx Natta

For the Basho lovers BTW Nihonjin Basho was the first thing that came to mind when i read the opening post

Eaten alive by
lice and fleas -- now the horse
beside my pillow pees