酷我-北美枫

[Lake]

Haiku

Haiku -
Chan from China
flourishing in Japan
is a seventeen mora verse
short form

short form
with Zen insight
gained from our daily life
in nature or society’s
moment

moment
enlightens us
petals open, fish jump
an epiphany rises in
haiku



(A quick write in my head on my way to work today. See if it makes sense.)

[[Lake]]

Haiku

Haiku -
Chan from China
flourishing in Japan
is a seventeen mora verse
short form

short form
with Zen insight
gained from our daily life
in nature or society’s
moment

moment
enlightens us
petals open, fish jump
an epiphany rises in
haiku



(A quick write in my head on my way to work today. See if it makes sense.)

[ericcoliu]

It’s a poetic manifestation of Japanese lyric verse form – Haiku – with a heartfelt touch of Zen.

Society's moment? What do you mean?

One small thing I want to discuss with you is the choice of word, epiphany, in the penultimate line of the third stanza.

Etymologically speaking, epiphany is a Christian theological term used to describe the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. In everyday use, epiphany means a divine manifestation infused with a theistic tone. In Western lierature, Eliot's Four Quartets best exemplify religious epiphanies. Therefore, I think epiphany is not a good choice of word used in a poem illustrating the Zen Buddhist literary tradition, which is generally viewed not theistic but humanistic.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

It’s a poetic manifestation of Japanese lyric verse form – Haiku – with a heartfelt touch of Zen.

Society's moment? What do you mean?

One small thing I want to discuss with you is the choice of word, epiphany, in the penultimate line of the third stanza.

Etymologically speaking, epiphany is a Christian theological term used to describe the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. In everyday use, epiphany means a divine manifestation infused with a theistic tone. In Western lierature, Eliot's Four Quartets best exemplify religious epiphanies. Therefore, I think epiphany is not a good choice of word used in a poem illustrating the Zen Buddhist literary tradition, which is generally viewed not theistic but humanistic.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[anna]

Hi Lake,

interesting thoughts and forms.

Glad to have Eric here for more details.
_________________
---------------------

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]]

Hi Lake,

interesting thoughts and forms.

Glad to have Eric here for more details.
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

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

http://annapoetry.com

[Lake]

Thanks anna for your read and comment.

[[Lake]]

Thanks anna for your read and comment.

[Lake]

[[Lake]]

[ericcoliu]

Michael Bugeja, author of The Art and Craft of Poetry, gives it a further definition with an interesting example:

An epiphany is a moment of truth in which your mind seems at one with the universe. (In fact, I think what we mistakenly call the muse really is an epiphany that electrifies our mind.) During such times you realize something sublime or solve a critical problem in your life. Everyone has such moments: You wake at 3 A.M., bolt up in bed and proclaim: "Now I know why he (or she) left me. He never wanted a partner. He (or she) wanted a parent."


Hi! Lake:

This is a Joycean definition of epiphany.

James Joyce, the principal writer to secularize the meaning of epiphany, was interested in sudden, startling moments which seemed to have heightened significance, and he made epiphany the centre of his fiction entitled Stephen hero, the early version of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. When the title character Stephen hero is passing through Eccles' Street one evening, one incident strikes Stephen:

"This triviality made him think of collecting many such moments together in a book of epiphanies. By an epiphany he meant a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether in the vulgarity of speech or of gesture or in a memorable phase of the mind itself. He believed that it was for the man of letters to record these epiphanies with extreme care, seeing that they themselves are the most delicate and evanescent of moments." (Chapter XXV)

Based on my own reading experience, the word epiphany, due to its entangled past association with the theistic tradition, seldom appears in English books about Zen Buddhism.

But your points are taken.

Good work. I'm delighted to read your poem.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Michael Bugeja, author of The Art and Craft of Poetry, gives it a further definition with an interesting example:

An epiphany is a moment of truth in which your mind seems at one with the universe. (In fact, I think what we mistakenly call the muse really is an epiphany that electrifies our mind.) During such times you realize something sublime or solve a critical problem in your life. Everyone has such moments: You wake at 3 A.M., bolt up in bed and proclaim: "Now I know why he (or she) left me. He never wanted a partner. He (or she) wanted a parent."


Hi! Lake:

This is a Joycean definition of epiphany.

James Joyce, the principal writer to secularize the meaning of epiphany, was interested in sudden, startling moments which seemed to have heightened significance, and he made epiphany the centre of his fiction entitled Stephen hero, the early version of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. When the title character Stephen hero is passing through Eccles' Street one evening, one incident strikes Stephen:

"This triviality made him think of collecting many such moments together in a book of epiphanies. By an epiphany he meant a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether in the vulgarity of speech or of gesture or in a memorable phase of the mind itself. He believed that it was for the man of letters to record these epiphanies with extreme care, seeing that they themselves are the most delicate and evanescent of moments." (Chapter XXV)

Based on my own reading experience, the word epiphany, due to its entangled past association with the theistic tradition, seldom appears in English books about Zen Buddhism.

But your points are taken.

Good work. I'm delighted to read your poem.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[Champagne]

At haiku moments

Sliding in and out of time

Epiphanies rise?
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[[Champagne]]

At haiku moments

Sliding in and out of time

Epiphanies rise?
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[Lake]

[[Lake]]

[Champagne]

Hi! Lake:

I'm Champagne and you can check out my claim at http://coviews.com/viewtopic.php?t=32634

“Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.”
-- Graham Greene

At best, I would think I have the Kierkegaardian Either/Or relation with ericcoliu.
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[[Champagne]]

Hi! Lake:

I'm Champagne and you can check out my claim at http://coviews.com/viewtopic.php?t=32634

“Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.”
-- Graham Greene

At best, I would think I have the Kierkegaardian Either/Or relation with ericcoliu.
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[Lake]

~ smile~

Geez, Champagne, that 'Kierkegaardian' really makes my toungue rolling...

How many books have you read? Both you and Eric have deep thoughts; sometimes too deep for me to digest...

I am a simple lake,

I am Lake

that lies
among ten thousand lakes
where clear is the water, blue the sky.
flowers, the sun,
maple leaves and limpid ice
are all but a seasonal cycle
in my eye.
I stay inland watching
four seasons rushing by
with a calm mind.

.

[[Lake]]

~ smile~

Geez, Champagne, that 'Kierkegaardian' really makes my toungue rolling...

How many books have you read? Both you and Eric have deep thoughts; sometimes too deep for me to digest...

I am a simple lake,

I am Lake

that lies
among ten thousand lakes
where clear is the water, blue the sky.
flowers, the sun,
maple leaves and limpid ice
are all but a seasonal cycle
in my eye.
I stay inland watching
four seasons rushing by
with a calm mind.

.

[Lake]

[[Lake]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[Lake]

Thank you Eric for your careful read and detailed comment that made me put on my thinking cap again.

I see what you mean, instead of imagery, the state of mind should be sublimated. There is something behind the 'three grows from under the rock", but obviously it is not clear to some people. I will think about it to see what I can come up with. The poem you cited is a very good example for me to ponder, thank you!

To provide more information on this form:

A cinquain is a five-line stanza of syllabic verse

with lines containing

1 - two syllables
2 - four syllables
3 - six syllables
4 - eight syllables
5 - two syllables

As a cinquain chain, the beginning of the second stanza picks up the last line of the first stanza and the third stanza picks up the last line of the second stanza and ends with the first line of the first stanza.

Sometimes, I like to play with different forms to sharpen my skill. So this one is a play of form, too.

[[Lake]]

Thank you Eric for your careful read and detailed comment that made me put on my thinking cap again.

I see what you mean, instead of imagery, the state of mind should be sublimated. There is something behind the 'three grows from under the rock", but obviously it is not clear to some people. I will think about it to see what I can come up with. The poem you cited is a very good example for me to ponder, thank you!

To provide more information on this form:

A cinquain is a five-line stanza of syllabic verse

with lines containing

1 - two syllables
2 - four syllables
3 - six syllables
4 - eight syllables
5 - two syllables

As a cinquain chain, the beginning of the second stanza picks up the last line of the first stanza and the third stanza picks up the last line of the second stanza and ends with the first line of the first stanza.

Sometimes, I like to play with different forms to sharpen my skill. So this one is a play of form, too.

[ericcoliu]

Hi! Lake:

Your points are well taken.

I'm single-minded about the issue about making textual connections without paying attention to formal aspects of writing cinquain.

I'm looking forward to your new work.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Hi! Lake:

Your points are well taken.

I'm single-minded about the issue about making textual connections without paying attention to formal aspects of writing cinquain.

I'm looking forward to your new work.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul