Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Archana Kapoor Nagpal & Jayashree Maniyil:Wednesday Haiku, #193

Photo by Brian Vogelgesand 


new moon --
my wishing lamp
on the holy river
Archana Kapoor Nagpal


 

Artwork by Ba Jin


anchored boat –
the weight of the moon
in her belly

Jayashree Maniyil


The Ba Jin art, pictured above is after the famed Li Po poem, Drinking Alone by Midnight. Never one to be able to resist Li Po, the poem follows:


Drinking Alone by Midnight

A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;
I drink alone, for no friend is near.
Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,
For he, with my shadow, will make three men.
The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;
Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
While we were sober, three shared the fun;
Now we are drunk, each goes his way.
May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,
And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.

Li Po 
trans. by Arthur Waley  


(from 'Cathay: Poems after Li Po' by Ezra Pound)

------------------------------------------------

The Lark (page down a tad)


ripples on water--
mingling with the larks
a fishing boat
Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue



best,
Don

PS  Click to learn how to contribute to Wednesday Haiku.

14 comments:

  1. Fascinating to learn about the guy who coined the word "blurb" way back in 1907. (He published the humorous magazine "The Lark")

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  2. Haiku by Archana and Jayshree are splendid. I appreciate the art-of-words exploring the images. The art work, poem of Li Po and Issa's haiku make a garland of joy and beauty!

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  3. Wonderful poems. And thank you for the Li Po--always enjoyable.

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  4. In its combination of art and poetry, this is arguably the best Wednesday Haiku yet.

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  5. All of them are admirable, but

    "the weight of the moon
    in her belly"

    absolutely undid me. Kudos, Jayashree Maniyil !

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  6. Two masterpieces...the skill and insight meeting in the here and now.

    -Patrick

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  7. I'm always a sucker for Li Po poems & this is a great one. Love the haiku too.

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  8. Peter ... yes, I got a kick out all the connections ... Don

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  9. P.K. - a garland of joy! Thanks so much. Don

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  10. Yes, Christina, something visceral in that ... Don

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  11. meeting in the here and now ... another shard-like definition of haiku ... thanks, Patrick. Don

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