酷我-北美枫

[ericcoliu]

There is a lamentable voice
That cannot be repressed
Nor kept subdued.
Questions are persistently murmured in the wind:
Why did you make me
And then leave me all alone?
Why did you inscribe my timeless love
With your transient flesh and blood?
Why did you make me a blooming cereus at night
And leave me buried in oblivion before dawn?
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

There is a lamentable voice
That cannot be repressed
Nor kept subdued.
Questions are persistently murmured in the wind:
Why did you make me
And then leave me all alone?
Why did you inscribe my timeless love
With your transient flesh and blood?
Why did you make me a blooming cereus at night
And leave me buried in oblivion before dawn?
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[Lake]

eric,

Well phrased and questioned. These questions always linger in our mind.

I can't help but quote another line from Gido Shushin:

If I explained aloud, then it wouldn't be a true explanation,
And if I transmitted it on paper, then where would be the secret?

[[Lake]]

eric,

Well phrased and questioned. These questions always linger in our mind.

I can't help but quote another line from Gido Shushin:

If I explained aloud, then it wouldn't be a true explanation,
And if I transmitted it on paper, then where would be the secret?

[ericcoliu]

Lake,

Thank you for your comment.

This poem was written during the winter days of my life with burning hope that the cold thoughts could be talked out through writing and then blown away by the spring breeze of new thinking and living.

By the way, are you familiar with Japanese Gozan literature? Gido Shushin was one of two major talented of Gozan literature. I like his work in which I receive the smoothing power of his literary imagination and religious reflection.


Beginning of Spring: Writing during Snow
Gido Shushin

I sit firmly on my dried-up mat, thoughts dead as ashes,
When the boy rushes in to announce that spring has returned-
The empty cold smashed to bits, the heavens dance with blossoms
That stir up what I've tried all my futile life to still!
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Lake,

Thank you for your comment.

This poem was written during the winter days of my life with burning hope that the cold thoughts could be talked out through writing and then blown away by the spring breeze of new thinking and living.

By the way, are you familiar with Japanese Gozan literature? Gido Shushin was one of two major talented of Gozan literature. I like his work in which I receive the smoothing power of his literary imagination and religious reflection.


Beginning of Spring: Writing during Snow
Gido Shushin

I sit firmly on my dried-up mat, thoughts dead as ashes,
When the boy rushes in to announce that spring has returned-
The empty cold smashed to bits, the heavens dance with blossoms
That stir up what I've tried all my futile life to still!
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[anna]

the heavens dance with blossoms
That stir up what I've tried all my futile life to still!

true...because desire is not easy to die out.

For me, I usually do not ask questions, but try to feel the moment...
(in your poem, I can imagine a lonely person wander along and ponder...)
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[[星子安娜]]

the heavens dance with blossoms
That stir up what I've tried all my futile life to still!

true...because desire is not easy to die out.

For me, I usually do not ask questions, but try to feel the moment...
(in your poem, I can imagine a lonely person wander along and ponder...)
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[ericcoliu]

Yes, a lonely person wanders along and ponders over the notion of belonging, which reminds one of Rey Chow’s reply to the question,

“When are you going home?” – “Home is here, in my migranthood.”

Your response makes me thinking of two starkly contrasting ways of dealing with the life issues revealed by two main characters, Mr. & Mrs. Ramsay, in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.

Mrs. Ramsay, a caring housewife and hostess taking pride in making memorable experiences for the guests at the family’s summer home, ponders life "being made up of little separate moments which one lived one by one". Conversely, Mr. Ramsay, a prominent metaphysical philosopher manifesting persistent personal and professional anxieties, fears, more than anything, that his work is insignificant in the grand scheme of things and that he will not be remembered by future generations.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Yes, a lonely person wanders along and ponders over the notion of belonging, which reminds one of Rey Chow’s reply to the question,

“When are you going home?” – “Home is here, in my migranthood.”

Your response makes me thinking of two starkly contrasting ways of dealing with the life issues revealed by two main characters, Mr. & Mrs. Ramsay, in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.

Mrs. Ramsay, a caring housewife and hostess taking pride in making memorable experiences for the guests at the family’s summer home, ponders life "being made up of little separate moments which one lived one by one". Conversely, Mr. Ramsay, a prominent metaphysical philosopher manifesting persistent personal and professional anxieties, fears, more than anything, that his work is insignificant in the grand scheme of things and that he will not be remembered by future generations.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[Lake]

[[Lake]]

[ericcoliu]

Gozan literature, which centers on the Chinese literature and poetry of Linjizhong Zen priests in Japan, refers to the writings of monks at the five major Zen temples. When Gido Shushin, a disciple of Soseki who is said to have established the Gozan system of Zen monasteries, presided as chief priest of Kimpeizan Zuisenji in the 14th century, the temple became the center of Gozan literature and was visited by many celebrated priests. In Edo Period, as a result of the vital power of Gozan literature, Sinology and Chinese poetry was popular again In Japan since the end of the 9th century.

If you are interested in Gozan literature, Gozan Literature: The Practice of Zen and the Pursuit of Poetry is a good-read.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Gozan literature, which centers on the Chinese literature and poetry of Linjizhong Zen priests in Japan, refers to the writings of monks at the five major Zen temples. When Gido Shushin, a disciple of Soseki who is said to have established the Gozan system of Zen monasteries, presided as chief priest of Kimpeizan Zuisenji in the 14th century, the temple became the center of Gozan literature and was visited by many celebrated priests. In Edo Period, as a result of the vital power of Gozan literature, Sinology and Chinese poetry was popular again In Japan since the end of the 9th century.

If you are interested in Gozan literature, Gozan Literature: The Practice of Zen and the Pursuit of Poetry is a good-read.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul