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tags: Poetry
Chinese poetry - Li Po (701-62) “Self-Consolation” Literal Translation
facing wine not distinguish twilight fall flower(s) pile up I/my robe drunk rise walk valley moon bird(s) return man also rare
In free translation, we may read:
Lost in wine, I did not notice dusk descending Petals dropped and piled up on my robe Drunk, I rise and walk the moonlit valley The birds have gone, and people too are few
Because most Japanese words end in one of five vowels, rhymed poetry would be very bland. Japanese poems are not in fact rhymed, but another device, the alteration of five and seven-syllable lines, creates a rhythm peculiar to Japanese poetry.
Tanka contain two poetic images. The first is taken from nature; the second (which may precede, follow or be woven) is a kind of meditative complement to the nature image. Tanka produce a dreamlike effect presenting images of reality without that definite quality of realness, often possessed by photographs or drawings, as if the image proceeded directly from the mind of the dreamer.
It may be likened to holding a mirror, one to the scene and the other to the poet themselves.
The haiku describes a single state or event, the time of the haiku is the present, the haiku refers to images connected to one of the four seasons. Haiku are sometimes meticulously translated into English with exactly 17 syllables, often at the expense of accuracy.
Kenneth Yasuda: When one happens to see a beautiful sunset, or a lovely flower, for instance, one is so often delighted that one merely stands still. This state of mind might be called “ah-ness” for the beholder can only give one breath-long exclamation of delight: “Ah!” The object has seized him and he is aware only of the shapes, the colors, the shadows… There is no time or place explicitly for reflection for judgments or for feelings. To render such a moment is the intent of all Haiku and the discipline of the form.
In “haiku” then, there is an attempt to “say something without saying it.” That which remains unsaid tells more than the words and yet it is unclear without them.
In Japan there is a tradition of jisei, writing a poem to farewell of life.
One belief is that the spirit of the dead person lingers for 49 days, another the spirit hovers on the borders of the world of the living some decades and only then merges into the greater cosmos.
the first literature mention of seppuku is related to two lovers. In Harima Fudoki, we find the story of the goddess Awami, who pursues her lover, the god Hanami, to the edge of a marsh. When she does not find him their her grief overcomes her and she “takes a dagger, pierces her stomach, and falls into the marsh.” This is the origin of the place name Harasaki-numa, “marsh of the split stomach.”
To her lover: if I leave, no trace behind in this fleeting world then what could you reproach?
And had my days been longer - Nagaraete still the darkness - kono yo no yami wa would not leave this world - yomo harete I along death’s path, among the hills - shide no yamaji no I shall behold the moon - iza tsuki o min
I thought to live two centuries, or three yet here comes death to me, a child just eight-five years old
Dairin Soto - My whole life I’ve sharped my sword/ and now, fave to face with death/ I unsheathe it, and lo/ the blade is broken/ alas
Flowers of the grass: Nora ni saku scarcely shown, and withered na wa kore made zo name and all kusa no hana
Asei grieves for that which comes and goes, leaving no lasting impression.
Sadly I see Te no ue ni the light fade on my palm: kanashiku kiyuru a firefly hotaru karu
I saw the moon as well Tsuki mo mite and now, world ware wa kono yo o “truly yours…” kashiku kana
Chiyoni creates a metaphor of life as a letter. Kashiku is a phrase used by women to end their letters. rel: Metaphors We Live By by Lakoff & Johnson