An Asian Whirl

Jul 7

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photo 116a_zps5e80aff5.jpg
 
The first line of each haiku or senryu comes from The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama
 


 
~~ 1 ~~
A passing woman
stops and orders fresh bean curd
from a street vendor.
 
~~ 2 ~~
 
Buddhist temple bells
scare three scrounging alley cats—
these calls to prayer.
 
~~ 3 ~~
 
Ask the artisan
how it happens that beauty
falls from her fingers.
 
~~ 4 ~~
 
her calligraphy—
the risk she takes for beauty
brushing line by line
 
~~ 5 ~~
 
Seeking signs of life,
she will climb the sacred stairs
with fear and trembling.
 
~~ 6 ~~
 
the weight of sadness—
this unbearable pressure
on her thin shoulders
 
~~ 7 ~~
 
A doll, a trinket—
where shall we hide these strange gifts
from her prying eyes?
 
~~ 8 ~~
 
The ivory cat—
might it spring to life one night
at the witching hour?
 
~~ 9 ~~
 
Winter solitude—
she hears the icy voices
haunting her at dusk.
 
~~ 10 ~~
 
Incense and chanting—
two pilgrims stop to listen,
falling to their knees.
 
~~ 11 ~~
 
teacups they drank from—
impossible to clean them,
even with strong soap
 
~~ 12 ~~
 
bitter on his tongue—
cigarette smoke enshrouding
all the papillae

 
© 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
 
 
More Carpe Diem’s Freestyle #1
 
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 116

Posted on July 7, 2013, in Carpe Diem, haiku, senryu, The Sunday Whirl and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. 17 Comments.

  1. brenda w | July 7, 2013 at 6:53 am

    All are exquisite gems, but my favorite has beauty falling from her fingers. Multi-faceted images…brava!

    Reply
  2. howanxious | July 7, 2013 at 7:09 am

    Wonderful.. each one of them seeks your attention. I loved them all! Great job with the imagery! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Misky | July 7, 2013 at 7:22 am

    I love #11. Well done on them all though.

    Reply
  4. nan | July 7, 2013 at 7:45 am

    Terrific set. My favorite two were:

    the weight of sadness—
    this unbearable pressure
    on her thin shoulders

    and

    teacups they drank from—
    impossible to clean them,
    even with strong soap

    Reply
  5. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) | July 7, 2013 at 8:35 am

    Oh these are each one exquisite … Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  6. laughwithme45 | July 7, 2013 at 8:48 am

    shoulders do feel thinner and thinner when the sadness weighs down on it.

    Reply
  7. Nanka | July 7, 2013 at 9:08 am

    Glad you have them all and each one so perfectly done!! I like the variety of characters and diverse ideas!!

    Reply
  8. 1sojournal | July 7, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    Each week I look at the words and think of you and how you do this. This is the beauty falling from your fingers and I am so grateful that you choose to share it with all of us. Thank you,

    Elizabeth
    http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/evening-of-the-4th/

    Reply
  9. Maggie Grace | July 7, 2013 at 2:16 pm

    #4-6 and 9-10. Love them. Some stunning…touch my heart.

    Reply
  10. WabiSabi | July 7, 2013 at 3:53 pm

    Haunting. Each three lines invites a glimpse of something sacred and mysterious! Thank you for this.Impossible

    Reply
  11. 4joy | July 7, 2013 at 5:41 pm

    the best reads of the year…..thanx for sharing these,,,,,

    Reply
  12. Old Egg | July 7, 2013 at 9:48 pm

    You continue to delight with your selection of such meaningful haiku.

    Reply
  13. Chevrefeuille | July 8, 2013 at 2:05 am

    Awesome post mmt. I like this freestyling … you’ve used a nice poem to write your series of haiku.

    Reply
  14. Cathy | July 8, 2013 at 8:28 pm

    All wonderful , especially #9

    Reply
  15. Victoria | July 9, 2013 at 3:06 pm

    What a wonderful idea, to use the words as you have. I have some Buddhist chants playing in the background, so this definitely crowns the experience.

    Reply
  16. Walt Wojtanik | July 10, 2013 at 5:30 am

    Your “brush strokes” paints these vignettes exquisitely! Impressive.

    Reply

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