鉄侍 THE IRON SAMURAI

How to Try Harder - OR - Zen & the Art of Human Action

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Poetry

Moonlight Lodging

Moonlight Lodging
by Nick Horton

A sheet of ice spread out upon the waves,
    Binding together the dark clashing rocks;
Wet poison words upon the deep-delved sea,
    Moonlight lodging till the great death of night.

Notes:

  • Moonlight lodging… in ancient Japan, the moon was said to take up lodging in dew drops, rivers, and other wet surfaces by way of reflection.
  • The first line is adapted from an old anonymous Japanese poem. This was the primary inspiration.
  • dark clashing rocks… from Medea, by Euripides.
  • poison words…great death… from Hakuin’s description of enlightenment coming after the mind-breaking meditation upon koans. See his essay “Licking up Hsi-keng’s Fox Slobber”.
  • deep-delved… from Keats, in his version it is “deep-delved earth”.

Menu

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Poetry

Facts

"A playwright is a kind of public intellectual, even if only a crackpot public intellectual." -- Tony Kusner
"The only reason people do not know much is because they do not care to know. They are incurious. Incuriousity is the oddest and most foolish failing there is." -- Stephen Fry
LaTex rendering by the remarkable Quick LaTeX -- Yay Math!
"More is not always better, but it usually is." -- Nick Horton
"Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, teach gym." -- Woody Allen

Designed by a Unicorn. Powered by Magic