Saw a grey heron in the rain today in Dublin, near the river Dodder...

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  • Myozan Kodo
    Friend of Treeleaf
    • May 2010
    • 1901

    Saw a grey heron in the rain today in Dublin, near the river Dodder...

    When the heron lands and folds up its elegant wing,
    It's as if a symbol has grounded and taken up its perch,
    Silently, cloud grey on cloud grey, soft coloured,
    Almost invisible in the muted light and falling rain.
    A visitor startling and exotic near the noise of traffic,
    An apparition from a place so close it lies forgotten,
    Emaciated and ethereal, a presence so feather light
    And temporary, it could alight at any moment,
    With its slim, gangly neck skyward, its wingspan spreading,
    Beating its way against the odds, up into the evening.
    And gone. As if the space it occupied is now all heron.
    As if its after-image fills a swelling space of magic,
    Where the mind's eye imagines the hallucination of the bird,
    Spreading out to fill the entire sky and horizon, grey on grey.


    PS: Had Dogen's poem in the back of my mind. Here's Dogan:

    The whole grass world cannot be seen
    In the snowy field
    A white heron is hiding himself
    Using his own form
  • Jinyo
    Member
    • Jan 2012
    • 1957

    #2


    Willow

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    • Taikyo
      Friend of Treeleaf
      • Nov 2012
      • 363

      #3
      There is a heron that lives in the river that borders my house. He/she is rarely seen but when seen so beautiful and, indeed, mystical. Always reminds me of Chinese/ Japanese poems & yes Dogen. Also the Song of Precious Mirror Samadhi with the line that is echoed in Dogen's poem above "A silver bowl filled with snow, a heron hidden in the moon"

      Thank you for the poem Myozan

      Gassho

      David

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      • Kyonin
        Treeleaf Priest / Engineer
        • Oct 2010
        • 6745

        #4
        Thank you, brother.

        Gassho,

        Kyonin
        Hondō Kyōnin
        奔道 協忍

        Comment

        • Mp

          #5
          Wow ... thank you Myozan. I have noticed that there has been some amazing inspirational thoughts and reflections these days - wonderful!

          Gassho
          Shingen

          Comment

          • Heishu
            Member
            • Sep 2012
            • 484

            #6
            Myozan, wonderful words that paint a beautiful picture in my mind. The heron is such a wonderful bird and amazing to watch. I am making a copy of this and I thank you.

            Gassho,
            Heishu


            “Blessed are the flexible, for they never get bent out of shape." Author Unknown

            Comment

            • Yugen

              #7
              Myozan,
              Beautiful. Thank you for sharing this.

              Deep bows
              Yugen

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              • KellyRok
                Member
                • Jul 2008
                • 1374

                #8
                A very powerful visual...beautiful words Myozan. Thank you!

                Gassho,
                Kelly/Jinmei

                Comment

                • Hans
                  Member
                  • Mar 2007
                  • 1853

                  #9
                  Hello Myozan,

                  gosh, I wish I was half the poet you are...and boy do I love herons. They look so much more beautiful than us hairless monkeys

                  Gassho,

                  Hans Chudo Mongen

                  Comment

                  • Nindo

                    #10
                    Too many words! Thirty blows!

                    Comment

                    • Myozan Kodo
                      Friend of Treeleaf
                      • May 2010
                      • 1901

                      #11
                      Hi,
                      I accept the blows, the silence and the praise. Whatever. Thank you.

                      Hans, I don't know about what you say. But I do remember giving a poetry reading about 20 years ago. After the reading, a guy came up to me and claimed, "I'd poet the shit out of you".

                      So, I was put in my place!

                      Reverting to silence,
                      Myozan
                      Last edited by Myozan Kodo; 10-08-2013, 06:17 PM.

                      Comment

                      • Shokai
                        Treeleaf Priest
                        • Mar 2009
                        • 6392

                        #12
                        Myozan,
                        Beautiful. Thank you for sharing this.

                        Ian;
                        Here's one back attcha;
                        1277303_10151594860990986_1185562034_o.jpg

                        he just happens to be my wallpaper this week.

                        gassho, rj
                        合掌,生開
                        gassho, Shokai

                        仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai

                        "Open to life in a benevolent way"

                        https://sarushinzendo.wordpress.com/

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                        • Mp

                          #13
                          Oh yes, the beautiful heron! Here I was able to get a snap shot of one taking a rest in the morning fog.

                          Gassho
                          Shingen

                          herion2.jpg

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                          • Myozan Kodo
                            Friend of Treeleaf
                            • May 2010
                            • 1901

                            #14
                            Great pictures guys. Beautiful.

                            So, tell me, what was Dogen on about?
                            Gassho
                            Myozan

                            Comment

                            • Mp

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Myozan Kodo
                              Great pictures guys. Beautiful.

                              So, tell me, what was Dogen on about?
                              Gassho
                              Myozan
                              Hello Myozan

                              Is Dogen referring to how we hide our true nature with our ignorance of the world around us?

                              Gassho
                              Shingen

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