Poets meet in old Japan

[wongkk]

Today has been dark, cold and afflicted with hours of persistent rain. At this point of the year, when the Winter feels endless, my mind thought of recreating a classical scene such as is conjured by poets of old Japan, usually in a solitary hut hidden in the recesses of a remote forest or mountain, where the elements outside serve only to heighten

Comments

[brotherskeeper1]

This is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing your photo and verse with me.

I say goodnight to you and hope you are peacefully asleep, too.

[wongkk]

I'm pleased that you like it. I'm sure that you recognize that I have read many examples of "lonely hut" poetry on your own LJ!

The "hut" in the photo is, in fact, part of the zeniarai benten shrine in Kamakura and the "hut" is in a sort of cave or rock overhang - but I thought that it would do for a dark, rainy, winter evening!

Thank you for your sleep wishes. I have been sleeping well in the sound of rain - in between drying out :=)

[brotherskeeper1]

I always wondered how the writers stayed warm when they wrote about wind and snow. I think they had the clothes on their backs and a walking stick, not much more.

I never realized how much the Japanese have to contribute to literature until I met you. I thank you for teaching me.

For now, we are at 61F and St. Louis is at 47F. It is terribly windy and raining. This was not supposed to happen until late this afternoon. I feel ill at ease with our weather.

Our power has been off once briefly.

[wongkk]

I think you are right about many itinerant poets having little more than a straw rain cape and straw rain hat and a stout staff. Probably they were rarely warm but just tough people. In days gone by, if you were not tough, probably you died young.

I'm pleased that you are discovering Japanese literature. I'm not an expert though so there's no substitute for reading books by people who have studied the subject in depth. I'm afraid I mainly paddle in the shallows!

Oh, I hope that you can keep power. 61F sounds quite a comfortable temperature; it is about freezing (or just below) here tonight and there is light snow forecast for tomorrow.

[wongkk]

Hello there! Do you like it? If I must get cold and wet in the rain, I also like something good to result :=)

[wongkk]

Yes, it snowed here too. All gone now - but none of that sun that you have promised me ha ha (neat idea for a poem though).

Today we have had rain and thunder and wind - noisy and bad tempered weather.

[ditch_gospel]

Such a warm, cozy, and cheering poem. I love the photo you've chosen to match it with. I bet some good poetry could also be found in rainy cycling!

[wongkk]

Thanks for reading.

I originally wrote the poem in a more classical style i.e. with the second stanza of a uniform 4 lines and without the personal details:

"An old friend walked far
and sits beside me with his bowl,
the scent of soup rising
as a reward to his face."

But then I decided that I didn't want the poem to be a mere fake and that it should contain a marker to show that it is contemporary, so I expanded the second stanza. Would the 4 line version be better, though? I would be interested in your Modly opinion!

The picture? The "hut" in the photo is, in fact, part of the zeniarai benten shrine in Kamakura and the "hut" is in a sort of cave or rock overhang - but I thought that it would do for a dark, rainy, winter evening! It looks solitary but the shrine is very popular so I had to wait quite a while to get a clear shot without heads and elbows. The lantern is real and came out nicely. It does look cheering.

I will look hard for good poetry during my next soggy cycle ride!

[osusao]

This made me feel quite warm. At the moment -20 centigrade here, so I needed that.

I believe you have an account in Flickr? It lead me here. I have spend many sleepless night in there and enjoyed greatly. Thank you.

[wongkk]

Oh - -20C is painfully cold! I'm pleased that the poem could let you feel a little warmth. It is not so cold here (maybe 4C) but we still need warmth of the spirit.

Yes, I use Flickr - different accounts for fandom material (Gackt, saiyuki manga) and for other photos. You are welcome to explore my LJ if you are interested; all my posts are public. I will make another post this evening with some photos from London, I think.

It is always a pleasure to find another lover of poetry. Pleased to meet you!

[osusao]

Pleased to meet you, too! And thank you for such a warm welcoming words. My English is quite clumsy, but I try to make myself understandable.

And now, because it´s even more colder than yesterday, I´m going to brew nice cup of green tea and make both my body and spirit a little bit warmer. See you!

[wongkk]

It is colder here too today - we have more snow.

If you are still learning English, then I am very impressed that you can enjoy poetry written in English. That is very good!