Fate
Frost covers the grass
A week before the solstice
No snow has fallen
On the pathway through the park
An old man walks with a cane
Young lovers maintain
A sense of space around them
Among passersby
***
Graced by the waxing moon sky
Seen through the apple blossoms
A single lonesome
Sparrow looking for its flock
Hops from branch to branch
The forest is in a trance,
The drone of a steady wind
***
"How long has it been?
I'm glad that you could join me
On such a hot day."
She decides that it's O.K.
To share with her friend a dream
It was by a stream
That meandered here and there
And curved out of sight
***
Who knows where the fall leaves might
End up?, perhaps the ocean?
The tidal motion
Millenia of fine sand,
Slowly the sun sets
Standing on a parapet
A goddess sings songs of fate
4 comments:
Hi, Jim. I hope you'll post some more of your poetry soon!
Greetings:
Thank you for posting here. I appreciate you taking the time to state your view which clarifies a number of aspects that I probably overinterpreted.
My basic view, and I am in a minority here, is that Japanese poetic forms should be treated the same way that other forms that were transmitted to the English language, such as the Sonnet, Villanelle, etc. That is to say I don't think the Japanese is exceptional or needs any special treatment.
Having said that, there are a number of possible routes to take, based on past means of the transmission of poetic forms. I favor a syllabic approach because I think that is the simplest and most successful. But I recognize that there are good arguments for other approaches. My essay at Lynx was meant to be an apologetic; because my sense is that those who adopt a syllabic approach are unreasonably dismissed. In other words, though I regard a syllabic approach to Japanese forms as legitimate, I am not attempting to legislate this approach for others.
I hope this clarifies and, again, thanks for posting here.
Best wishes,
Jim
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