Japan
Today I pass the time reading
a favorite haiku,
saying the few words over and over.
It feels like eating
the same small, perfect grape
again and again.
I walk through the house reciting it
and leave its letters falling
through the air of every room.
I stand by the big silence of the piano and say it.
I say it in front of a painting of the sea.
I tap out its rhythm on an empty shelf.
I listen to myself saying it,
then I say it without listening,
then I hear it without saying it.
And when the dog looks up at me,
I kneel down on the floor
and whisper it into each of his long white ears.
It's the one about the one-ton temple bell
with the moth sleeping on its surface,
and every time I say it, I feel the excruciating
pressure of the moth
on the surface of the iron bell.
When I say it at the window,
the bell is the world
and I am the moth resting there.
When I say it at the mirror,
I am the heavy bell
and the moth is life with its papery wings.
And later, when I say it to you in the dark,
you are the bell,
and I am the tongue of the bell, ringing you,
and the moth has flown
from its line
and moves like a hinge in the air above our bed.
~ Billy Collins
The image above is by Lisa Kristine. I have a very large version that hangs over our bed. Listen.
26 comments:
Love all you share
Love you
Simply beautiful!! Worth a second read. Bye.
Beautiful....thanks for sharing!!!
A cup of coffee and a little poetry-Relyn you are starting my day perfectly!
sigh* i love this! Thanks Relyn
a quiet Sunday read ...
amazing!
What a lovely way to start a cold Sunday morning. Miss and love you too! I may be at school sometime this week.
xo
dulcy
Pure Awesomeness Relyn!!
Relyn, if we lived near each other, I'd say, let's start a reading group, just me and you. We love all the same poets. Indeed, I think we share many of the same favorite poems. Sigh. xoxo Gigi
This is beautiful...and thought provoking.
Sue
That's lovely. A beautiful poem. And I looked up the haiku he is referencing:
haiku by Buson (1716-84):
on the one ton temple bell
a moon-moth, folded into sleep,
sits still.
Taniguchi Buson
this takes my breath away.
xoxo
You find the best poems.... and share them. How good is that?
The comparison of the haiku and grape is so refreshing and tantalizing... love this...
:-)
(((hugs))),
love,
me
beautiful...thanks so much for sharing.
one love.
Oh. I like. I like it alot!
What a pleasure to revisit Collins' Japan!
Thank You!
xox
Isabel
Hi Relyn,
The third stanza creates a very attractive image.
I just love Billy Collins - he's the best! Great choices: the poem, the image, and the YouTube clip is sheer brilliance!
Billy Collins to start off my Monday? Perfect. Thank you sweet Relyn!
xoxo
Wow! Sensual. . .
One of the reasons to love visiting here is seeing how many like minded souls love and appreciate the written word, the near-lost poetry of life. This post especially is dear to me – we spent several years in a small coast village in Japan when I was growing up. Have a lovely week filled with joy, dear. xoxo – g
wow.
that was stunning.
and just what i needed to make
my cold rainy windy morning
a little brighter,
thank you.
xo
This is stunning. And it SO captures Japan!
You've introduced me to a poet I didn't know. I'll have to go Google Billy Collins. I was trained on classical poetry. Stopped learning after a while with work and family. Now I'm free again to learn and stretch and grow. Thank you for introducing me to a new joy.
Cheers, Chris
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