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Beautiful People Beautiful Places Beautiful Rituals Beautiful Things

Summer 2024

An Ode to the Summer Stars

So bright you are

glorious abundant stars shower, a downpour across the night sky

Antares, angry red, the brightest star of Scorpion

Forever the target to Saggitarious’ steady arrow

Indus, where might you be, as

the Swan flys gracefully over the flow of milky way

Deneb, a first star shining its tail on a long necked swan

Andromeda, still a cursed captive,

Corona Borealis, still awaiting its king to adorn the crown

star speckels, comets, namesless particles of dust, shine upon us

such is the boundless beauty

I no longer desire jewels on this earth as

I have seen your beauty in our galaxy and beyond

this universe

Noriko Ibaragi (translated by K. Tsuyama, summer 2024)
Categories
Beautiful People Beautiful Places Beautiful Rituals

”June” by Noriko Ibaragi

June

Is there a beautiful village somewhere

where at the end of a day, dark foamy stout beer

resting the hoe against a wall, resting the basket

men and women raise their large jock

Is there a beautiful town somewhere

streets lined with edibile berries continue forever, smuding into a horizon of violet sunset skies

Gentle sounds of crowds of young people milling around, foam up the air to its very brim

Is there beautiful people and people power somewhere

Power of connection and delight in together living this now, this present moment, this same generation

sharing our rage that sharpen into furious power

Noriko Ibaragi

translated by K. Tsuyama, June 2024 in California:)

This poem by Noriko Ibaragi was first published June 21, 1956 on Asahi newspaper in Japan. She had just turned 30 that same month. I can sense her longings even though its generations ago in distant land and divergent culture … it’s a timeless. It’s timeless, that longing where we want to make a difference – we want to rebel – to be the changemaker for a better world while engulfed in anger. Rather than in gratitude for those who struggled to lead a path before us, we were furious. We were enraged. The poet was young. We were all young dreamers, whether drunk or sober.

That same longing is timeless.

And now I long to be back in that time…of earnest longings

to feel the strength of togetherness

when we felt that we had the power for a change.

Categories
Beautiful Places

The Neighborhood

Tsukiji Honganji Temple lights up !

I am going back to this space soon … Grateful for the freedom and for the understanding family who sees the value in taking care of another more vulnerable. One must advocate for the vulnerable, and be their voice if they are feeling powerless and lonely.

It is not called a sacrifice if one does not resent that effort. What kind of a mother for example regrets being there for her child. The care you give them today will return in multi-folds and besides, itsn’t it about giving or devoting your energies without expecting a return.

So it is the same with role reversals. Only this time there is no return other than that conscience wanting nothing more than life of no regrets.