[ARTS]: Big and Little Poetry--free verse, any verse.

[Ryumon]

sitting still
the shadow on the wall is not me
does it have Buddha nature?



Gassho,

Kirk

sat

[Tai Shi]

Sit Better than Yesterday

Fountain of Verse,
Better than yesterday
Visible, renound
My teacher, human,
Sits better today
Yesterday exactly
I know which
Dharma, which Dharma
My mouth, my restraint
Is better than yesterday
Knowing is knowing lovely
Smell, tast all eyes, felt
Sound, all poems
Read aloud, for poems
For me better in three
Verses, more lines, better
Today, yesterday, and now.

Tai Shi
sat/ lah
Gassho

[Tai Shi]

For my friend Myogan

We Find a Little Peace
When I met you
There was slur of speech
Driven by opiates, grind
Of bones you did not
Know wrench nerves
Into neck, face entire
Head, so for doctors
I removed my hat, belt
Shoe laces, no floss
For teeth, only two
Pocket books and
Simple clothing
T shirt baggy pants
Tees and did every
Action, day I entered
Last 5 mg tablet
Only one look back
I did not turn to stone
Today tablets vanquished
Like peaceful surrender,
I do not stand alone
Never alone again
You may be my friend
May I be your friend?

Tai Shi
sat/ Gassho


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Geika]

I have a great fear of doing nothing welling up inside of me
To see that it is really nothing
Is real freedom
The anxiety still rolls
But the tide should drift back
And back

And back

Allow myself to truly feel peace and ease
And put it down

Put it down

Think nothing
And wait for the chime

Breathe through each wave
Gently work out the tightness
Each will try to hook me and glimmer
Just see

[Tai Shi]

Geika
Outstanding, so I enjoy liberation poetry with respect-- thank you.
Tai Shi
sat/ lah
Gassho

[Tai Shi]

Flowers Around Each Other

Our age, nothing to do
With love or love or love,
Our child, each other,
Our selves each to each
Reply again, oh, "Yes
Love's beauty!" one
Love for us, for her
For me, it's true, flowers
Blooming in our yard,
She so includes my life
In hers, begonias
Bloom again, impatiens
Gone. Forget-me-nots
Bloom, spring in August
More, flowers grow again
Around our home
Around each other.

Charles E Taylor, August 4, 2020
Tai Shi
sat/ lah
Gassho

[Tai Shi]

Kirkmc, beautiful, craft, in three lines, Oh, haiku!
Tai Shi
sat
Gassho

[Tai Shi]

Shall longer lines be difficult? No. Each line might contain "Black Petals" on a wet bow, bowel, wood for thought so these words display an image-- more editing with Pound's images, sensation, in Buddhism; can one to six, name them in a poem? SO, plese, I invite you. Creativity a sitting practice. YOUR SPACE!!

White Wordless Thank you Kokuu for your suggestion.


Transendent white
Weeds, in my back
Yard, fill voids
of distress. Pandemic.

Gassho
sat/ lah
Tai Shi

[Kokuu]

White Wordless

Transendent white
Weeds, in my back-
Yard, fill voids
of distress. Pandemic.

I like that very much, Tai Shi!

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Jundo]

One of my rare attempts at poetry. A fellow in an online Zen group posted this pessimistic piece ...

Gad Horowitz

DUKKHA
OH IS’NT THIS TOO PESSIMISTIC?

Torn from the womb screaming hungry helpless pining paining yearning for love approval safety beg and plead and threaten and whimper and bluster grab and waste one thing after another study work get rich kill study work get rich kill good sex bad sex no sex love hate envy apathy and terror boredom chatter and blather smug self-satisfied and cheery beery glum and weary as body slowly quickly suddenly falls apart more and more sickness and pain and fear of death and wishing for death body falls apart shredded hollowed more and more. how are things? things fall apart. grab some wisdom suck it up too bad for you if you don’t. mourn the wounds the losses of mother father wife husband all close friends one after another even children . it’s only natural. the good books say just relax and accept everything swallow and digest those insults and you’ll have no problem. isn’t that wonderful?
stiff upper lip bite the bullet resentment and blah blah “self expression”. good for you for “confronting your own mortality” enjoy compulsory equanimity if you know what’s good for you too bad if you don’t live with uncertainty too bad for you if you won’t can’t don’t.
Tell yourself well it wasnt all bad look on the bright side it wasn’t all bad. I had a nice dinner and cute grandchildren. And a lovely zen garden. Other people are much less fortunate I should be grateful oh so grateful too bad for me if I’m not
And then do it all over again, again and again maybe this time I’ll be a winner.
But no. Same old same old. From beginningless time the same losing game. Like and share. Then—maybe — Gone gone utterly and completely gone. Svaha! Maybe.

Oh my. Yes, the world can be seen so if we wish, but I rejoined ...

THE CURE FOR DUKKHA
Oh, isn't this too Shikantastic?

Born yet beyond birth, silent and satisfied, safe, beyond desire, pain-is-not-suffering, cravings in healthy check, loving, approved and safe, nothing to beg or plead for, free of threat and fear, open hands without grabbing, never a drop of waste, one thing after another yet no place to go, studying and working for their own sake so rich, nobody to kill or be killed (thus we Vow to end the violence!), sex just sex in its time and place, yet more love, never a prisoner or pawn of hate or envy, no way to be apathetic to this treasure of a world, terror exists between our ears yet so does peace, the boredom and celebration of sitting cross legged facing a wall, the loudest chatter and blather of the world is both silence and words of endless wisdom to the attuned ear, the self is satisfied because the self is released, sometimes cheery & sometimes glum yet a Buddha's subtle smile in equanimity through all the ups and downs, sometimes energetic & sometimes weary yet the world keeps turning even as we run or rest, body slowing quickly suddenly falls apart yet there is no time or aging, thus disentangled and content in the face of even sickness and pain and death, moaning and curled up in agony some days as the body falls to pieces yet somehow wonderfully the spirit soars above it all ... observing, Master Dogen says, "If life comes, this is life. If death comes, this is death. There is no reason to try to escape from it, and their is no reason to cling to it either," for all things are impermanent and fall into collapse yet we can allow and flow along with the changes, one need not ask "how are things?" for all things are" just as they be," the people we love and lose and mourn ... mother father wife husband all close friends one after another even children ... go no where and are never lost never born nor die even as we lose them and cry at their graves, . it’s only natural. The good books proclaim so thus they are good, isn’t that wonderful!! May all beings know this treasure, not a matter of some 'stiff upper lip' but a straight upright back just sitting cross legged, the blah blah as simple as the "No going, no coming, no arising, no abiding; Baba wawa" that the Hokyo Zanmai sings - is anything said or not? Oh, so many people in this world are less fortunate, hungry and afraid, let us feed and house and comfort them then teach them how to be free, let us be grateful for all of it ... even the ugly and scary parts ... while we also seek to bring beauty and peace to this sometimes terrible world. No need to be a winner, for the game is already the goal, no gain no loss no win no lose as the ball enters Indra's Net. From the beginning of time, there is no beginning nor time, from the startless start gone gone utterly and completely gone to the other shore right where we sit and stand the Pure Lotus Land ... Svaha! No ifs or maybes about it.



Here is another Zen poem ...

Roses are red, violets are blue ...

... yet not.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Seikan]

Jundo,

That's a wonderful prose poem—and a great counterbalance to the other, pessimistic post that you reference. Your poem also has a lovely Kerouac/Ginsberg stream of consciousness vibe that resonates with me.

And then there's this hidden gem...

...Baba wawa...

Are you referencing the late, great Gilda?

Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-



Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Jundo]

Baba wawa ...

I always think of that too. It is actually a line from the Hokyo Zanmai ...

Although it is not constructed,
it is not beyond words.

Like facing a precious mirror；
form and reflection behold each other.

You are not it,
but in truth it is you.

Like a newborn child,
it is fully endowed with five aspects.

No going, no coming, no arising, no abiding;
"Baba wawa" - is anything said or not?

In the end it says nothing,
for the words are not yet right.
https://global.sotozen-net.or.jp/eng.../pdf/01/06.pdf

Gassho, J

STLah

[Seikan]

Baba wawa ...

I always think of that too. It is actually a line from the Hokyo Zanmai ...

So cool. I learn something new every day.

Thank you for that.

Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Tai Shi]

I was taught several basic ideas in writing good poetry. 1) Aim for concision in making lines pack images into as little space as possible. 2) The image is basic building block of good poetry. 3) An image makes use of one to five senses in writing that packed imaage. {I believe in Buddhism this might include thought.} 4) Verse can be free but it must contain internal assonance, consonance, alliterations, rhyme, and sound devices. 5) internal sound and sensory detail make meaning outside of the evident (Metaphore, and Simile). 6) Free verse (without traditional stanzas in rhyme produces structure freely formed from elission. 6) Elission is the systematic leaving out of structures in conectives. 7) Elission begines with leaving out connectives like a, an, the, and as many conjunctions and articles as possible. 8) Leaving out some ideas to produce implied meaning {Elission} must not sacrafice meaning. 9) A poem must point to meaning. That is, a poem cannot sacrafice meaning in the way lines are built. 10) Free verse poems can produce stanzas of differing length. 11) Within poems that are built upon traditional metter and rhyme, all these "Rules," {implied or obvious} are used in the best poetry. 12) Free verse, without traditional rhyme and metter, can be, and is some of the greastest poetry written. 13) Traditional rhyme and metter is a great body, some of the greatest poetry ever written, of historical magnitude. 14) Great Literature refers back to the great traditions in meaning and sometimes rhyme, meter-- all sound rules and free verse can form {new} meaning. 15) When a poet writes she reaches toward traditions of great poetry while useing the ideas of sound and sense. 16) Weather ultimate meaning in culture is negative, positive, or neutral has no bearing on the magnitude of great writing. 17) The poet spends her time in study to build, fashion, and write great poetry. 18) Great poetry refers back to this entire body of rules and suggestions. 19) Poetry can make use of some, none, or all of these ideas. 20) Sound, sense, sturcture, and thought exist or do not exist in great poetry. 21) It is the obligation of the great poet to know these ideas whether she makes use, or does not make use of tradition. 22) New traditions such as Marxism, Feminism, Gender Studies, Sociological Structures, and new historical events spring up everyday, and can forge ahead to produce new meaning and new forms, content, and meaning. 23) The great poet might make use of none of these ideas. 24) These ideas are only part of the craft of good poetry, and the great poet attempts to craft meaning in words-- sometimes succeeds.{Sorry Jundo, I couldn't restrict this, only part of the studies of students who write or critique poetry, in just three lines}
Gassho
Deep bows
sat / lah
Tai Shi
{calm poetry}

[Seikan]

I was taught several basic ideas in writing good poetry. 1) Aim for concision in making lines pack images into as little space as possible. 2) The image is basic building block of good poetry. 3) An image makes use of one to five senses in writing that packed imaage. {I believe in Buddhism this might include thought.} 4) Verse can be free but it must contain internal assonance, consonance, alliterations, rhyme, and sound devices. 5) internal sound and sensory detail make meaning outside of the evident (Metaphore, and Simile). 6) Free verse (without traditional stanzas in rhyme produces structure freely formed from elission. 6) Elission is the systematic leaving out of structures in conectives. 7) Elission begines with leaving out connectives like a, an, the, and as many conjunctions and articles as possible. 8) Leaving out some ideas to produce implied meaning {Elission} must not sacrafice meaning. 9) A poem must point to meaning. That is, a poem cannot sacrafice meaning in the way lines are built. 10) Free verse poems can produce stanzas of differing length. 11) Within poems that are built upon traditional metter and rhyme, all these "Rules," {implied or obvious} are used in the best poetry. 12) Free verse, without traditional rhyme and metter, can be, and is some of the greastest poetry written. 13) Traditional rhyme and metter is a great body, some of the greatest poetry ever written, of historical magnitude. 14) Great Literature refers back to the great traditions in meaning and sometimes rhyme, meter-- all sound rules and free verse can form {new} meaning. 15) When a poet writes she reaches toward traditions of great poetry while useing the ideas of sound and sense. 16) Weather ultimate meaning in culture is negative, positive, or neutral has no bearing on the magnitude of great writing. 17) The poet spends her time in study to build, fashion, and write great poetry. 18) Great poetry refers back to this entire body of rules and suggestions. 19) Poetry can make use of some, none, or all of these ideas. 20) Sound, sense, sturcture, and thought exist or do not exist in great poetry. 21) It is the obligation of the great poet to know these ideas whether she makes use, or does not make use of tradition. 22) New traditions such as Marxism, Feminism, Gender Studies, Sociological Structures, and new historical events spring up everyday, and can forge ahead to produce new meaning and new forms, content, and meaning. 23) The great poet might make use of none of these ideas. 24) These ideas are only part of the craft of good poetry, and the great poet attempts to craft meaning in words-- sometimes succeeds.{Sorry Jundo, I couldn't restrict this, only part of the studies of students who write or critique poetry, in just three lines}
Gassho
Deep bows
sat / lah
Tai Shi
{calm poetry}

Tai Shi,

This is wonderful! A poetry "manifesto" if you will.

If I may share a similar, yet shorter perspective of my own (in free verse):


Poetry is

That sacred space
Where we meet

Traversing bridges
Built of words

Yet lingering long
In the spaces between


Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-