Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.
John Keats
The Bright Field
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the
pearl of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
R. S. Thomas
3.
Many people have great success in dealing with stress by means of meditation or ‘mindfulness’. This is an ancient practice, with its origins in Buddhist and other Eastern traditions. But meditation in the abstract can be difficult. It doesn’t work for everybody. Immersion in a short contemplative poem works well as a form of meditation because the words and the images they create can help you to focus, to clear your mind of every other thought. This section begins with some very short poems, glimpses of grace captured in an instant. They are translated or adapted from ancient Chinese and Japanese traditions, the poetry of the Tang dynasty and the miniaturist art of the haiku. In the East, not least under Buddhist influence, the meditative moment has long been the bedrock of poetry. The Tang dynasty poets were typically court officials or civil servants who wrote poetry as a form of relaxation and inner calming when they retreated from the hectic, competitive world of work into the peace of the countryside. Each short piece offers a single image or brief chain of images. Empty your mind of other thoughts by absorbing yourself in the words, bringing alive the images in your imagination, taking yourself into the moment shared by the poet.
The world of nature is at the heart of much poetry written in English too. Relieve your stress by transporting yourself to some natural objects, places and moods of calm through the poems in this section: a beautiful lake remembered from a busy city street; a cherry tree in blossom; a quiet evening as birds return to their nests. Find your own oasis. Try noting down some images that conjure it up: you will have taken your own first step towards the writing of poetry.
Seven Ancient Japanese Haiku
I come weary,
In search of an inn –
Ah! these wisteria flowers!
An ancient pond!
With a sound from the water
Of the frog as it plunges in.
On a withered branch
A crow is sitting
This autumn eve.
The cry of the cicada
Gives us no sign
That presently it will die.
Thought I, the fallen flowers
Are returning to their branch;
But lo! they were butterflies.
Drinking tea alone:
every day the butterfly
stops by.
The world of dew
Is a world of dew,
And yet, and yet.
Translated by W. G. Aston
The first four are by Basho,
the fifth by Arakida Moritake
and the last two by Kobayashi Issa
from Narrow Road to the Deep North
It is with awe
That I beheld
Fresh leaves, green leaves,
Bright in the sun.
The chestnut by the eaves
In magnificent bloom
Passes unnoticed
By men of the world.
I felt quite at home,
As if it were mine,
Sleeping lazily
In this house of fresh air.
In the utter silence
Of a temple,
A cicada’s voice alone
Penetrates the rocks.
Cranes hop around
On the watery beach of Shiogoshi
Dabbling their long legs
In the cool tide of the sea.
I hope to have gathered
To repay your kindness
The willow leaves
Scattered in the garden.
As firmly cemented clam shells
Fall apart in autumn,
So I must take to the road again,
Farewell, my friends.
Basho, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa
Tang Variations
1. Deer Enclosure
Empty mountain. Seeing nobody.
Only hearing the sound of voices.
Reflection: sunlight enters the deep forest
And shines again on green moss.
2. House in the Bamboo Grove
Sitting alone deep in a remote thicket
I pluck my lute and sing.
In this dark unknown forest
The bright moon shines on me.
3. Goodbye
We go to the mountain for our farewell
At sunset I close the door in the brushwood fence
Next year the spring grass will be green
And you, prince among friends, will return or not return.
4. One Heart
Red beans grow in the south country
In the warm weather there will be many branches
I want you to be here to pluck them with me
That is the thing I yearn for: it will cure my heart.
5. A Farewell
If you return to the mountains and the valleys
You must find beauty in the heights and the depths:
Don’t follow the example of the man
Who never travels beyond the peach garden where we play.
6. Snowy Peak