Reading Dogen thought of this

[Meishin]

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

-- William Carlos Williams

Gassho
Meishin
SatToday/LAH

[Eishuu]

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Gassho
Lucy
ST/LAH

[Mp]

Good old Dogen, thank you Meishin. =)

Gassho
Shingen

SatToday/LAH

[Byokan]

Oh, wonderful, Meishin! So clear, spare, present, and beautiful. I bet he didn't know he was writing "buddhist" poetry of Emptiness! Thank you for sharing this, so familiar, and now new. You inspired me to look at his poetry with a new eye. I offer you this one with a similar feel of "just this":

Thursday

I have had my dream - like others -
and it has come to nothing, so that
I remain now carelessly
with feet planted on the ground
and look up at the sky -
feeling my clothes about me,
the weight of my body in my shoes,
the rim of my hat, air passing in and out
at my nose - and decide to dream no more.

- WCW

The red wheelbarrow speaks to me of interconnectedness, whereas this one, which I might have read before as dejected and a little sad, now gives me a flavor of clarity, renunciation and freedom. Reminds me a little of Ikkyu. Dogen would dig these.

Gassho
Byōkan
sat + lah

[Kokuu]

Thank you for sharing, Meishin. That poem is well known in haiku circles and very lovely. So sparse, yet speaks volumes.

This is a nice (albeit somewhat lengthy) piece on Buddhism and modern poetry from a British magazine of Buddhist arts: https://urthona.com/literature/the-r...-modern-world/

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Meishin]

Thank you, Byōkan, for "Thursday," and thank you, Kokuu, for the link. Enjoyed the article. I love the poetry of Gary Snyder, particularly the collection "Myths & Texts." I was fortunate to hear him read when I was a student in Berkeley.

Gassho
Meishin
SatToday/LAH