Enjoying these, Mark! I especially love this set. The "waves pulled by the moon" metaphor, the water thread tying the whole thing together, the cicada ending. It vibrates with meaning and mystery. Exquisite.
I am quite taken by this entire unfolding. Especially #2. It would be something to someday sit down and talk through your entire experience. Funny thing, I first had you pegged (given your love of form) as a friend of antiquity. But these recent expressions strike me as modern, lean and appropriately oriental. I guess it makes sense to explore Japan (and it's asthetics) using Japanese forms.
Man, I'd love to sit down with you and go through memories. I'd love to hear more about your experiences someday as well. I've really been enjoying these Japanese forms – in a very different sense than I would enjoy writing a sonnet, for example, but not that different insofar as they both rely on structure and rules. Japanese forms are even more demanding if you're going to follow their intent, because haiku is only about nature, senryu is a haiku but about anything else besides nature, etc. etc. I've been writing "haiku" poems forever and they were actually senryu. But this round I'm allowing myself to dig into the modern flexibiity where syllable count is less important than purity of thought expression.
Enjoying these, Mark! I especially love this set. The "waves pulled by the moon" metaphor, the water thread tying the whole thing together, the cicada ending. It vibrates with meaning and mystery. Exquisite.
Thank you, Chris – much appreciated! I'm glad it resonated. Probably the one that speaks to the most transformational part of my experience there.
I am in awe of people who write form poetry... this senryu in particular:
you are like Jesus
realizing the whole world—
her shy eyes widen.
....
What a picture!
Thank you!
I am quite taken by this entire unfolding. Especially #2. It would be something to someday sit down and talk through your entire experience. Funny thing, I first had you pegged (given your love of form) as a friend of antiquity. But these recent expressions strike me as modern, lean and appropriately oriental. I guess it makes sense to explore Japan (and it's asthetics) using Japanese forms.
Man, I'd love to sit down with you and go through memories. I'd love to hear more about your experiences someday as well. I've really been enjoying these Japanese forms – in a very different sense than I would enjoy writing a sonnet, for example, but not that different insofar as they both rely on structure and rules. Japanese forms are even more demanding if you're going to follow their intent, because haiku is only about nature, senryu is a haiku but about anything else besides nature, etc. etc. I've been writing "haiku" poems forever and they were actually senryu. But this round I'm allowing myself to dig into the modern flexibiity where syllable count is less important than purity of thought expression.