The third week of Advent represents joy. We’ve also been lighting the Shepherds candle in church this week. This post is playing with linkage between joy and a very different kind of shepherd than we would normally picture. I’m using these Japanese forms, with their traditional focus on nature, to exhibit how a fallen tree might “lay down his life for the sheep” as a metaphor for the good shepherd of John 10:11.1
If you’re interested in learning more about these forms, you’ll find descriptions below the image. You may enjoy letting the poems sink in before looking into their forms.
– MR
I. Haiku sudden gust— maple seed pirouettes II. Imayo wild now the wind comes howling—the old tree shudders so many storms it has seen—exulting in strength it breathes deeply one last time—in through hollow limbs gravity’s song crescendos—long groaning exhale III. Choka the falling maple flies if only for seconds between life and death and life again after earth reabsorbs its joy— midfall it laughs with relief unburdened at last no longer struggling to stand no longer fighting the wind IV. Gogyohka winter wanes and the seed remembers warm sunshine on its face V. Choka seasons chant their rhyme carpeting the forest floor with slow renaissance— multitudes of five-lobed leaves flutter in the breeze unfurling new growth daily yet shallow of root they give transience no thought only stretching toward the light VI. Imayo now many years decompose—the maple with them soil’s skyflung joy returns—suffusing young roots green shoots rise into seedlings—seedlings into trees and the forest wears new crowns—hammered from old gold VII. Haiku zephyr rises— maple sapling bows at the waist
Also in the Advent Series
In order of appearance
Haiku
Three lines: long / short / long per modern haiku trends with no syllable rules. Nature as the overriding theme: a short poem describing a single moment in time. Includes a seasonal reference (e.g. “sudden gust” suggesting a windy time of year which, when linked to a maple seed, indicates spring) and a kireji or “cutting word” (I’ve chosen to use an em-dash, because there are no cutting words in English as there are in Japanese).
Imayo
A 4-line poem meant to be sung, with 12 syllables per line and a pause after the first 7 syllables of each line, shown here by an em-dash. No rules for subject matter. I use these to tell a story.
Choka
Translates as “long poem” (as opposed to tanka which means “short poem”). Alternating lines of 5 and 7 syllables, ending with a couplet of 7-syllable lines. The first 2 lines set the theme and the rest of the lines expand on it and enrich its meaning. Usually written as sets of couplets. I’ve bent that rule here.
Gogyohka
Translates as "five-line poem." It’s simple: just 5 lines, with 1 phrase per line. The length of a “phrase” is completely subjective. I tend toward very short phrases for these because I find that brevity opens up the form’s potential. No subject matter rules, seasonal references, or kireji required.
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John 10:11-15 (ESV)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Just beautiful.
These are wonderful!