then a big crash… sirens ring and emergency vehicles come rushing over … soba shop owner on the phone calling emergency. Any day, a tranquil ordinary can be disrupted in a matter of seconds. One day you are just eating lunch, next there’s car crashing in right in front. One day you are alive; one day who knows.
Trying to live in the present and live the fullest, with so much gratitude. Feeling very sorry for the drivers of these vehicles. Praying they are okay.
late Sachiko Yoshihara…
Power of Self-Dicipline
To The Gen Z’s
I confess, as much as I desperately wanted to kill myself
ultimately, I share that I never succeeded in killing myself
not even once
It’s probably because, rather than to die
or to kill,
I found writing I ended up writing
But in that same vein,
one must not replace living by writing
If you can save yourself from having to kill yourself by writing, and still you want to kill yourself, then,
poetry is as useful as
medicine
poetry IS my medicine
But one must not stop living by writing
But one must not stop loving by writing
I’ve found that an actual “real”flower is definitely lost – poof – disappears – as soon as I write the word “flower”
Likewise dragging my feet on writing paper makes my life insignificantly blithe and livable
Maybe even tolerable
so I set out to walk around erasing my foot prints, only to find new foot prints following right behind me.
(translated by K. Tsuyama)
Sachiko Yoshihara
***
It’s actually addressed “To The Youth” of the time. The poem was prompted when Yoshihara served as one of the panalists serving as a judge for a high school poetry contest. It is said that she was surprised, saddened and triggered by so many entries that expressed many teens’ desire to end their lives. She felt the anguish, a certain suicide ideation in many of the student entries which prompted her to write this poem.
自戒
わかものたちよ
わたしは一度も死ななかった
たぶん死ぬかわりに
殺すかわりに書いたからだ
死にたいと書くことで
死ななくてすむのなら
詩は薬のみたいな役に立つ
けれどその調子で生きるかわりに書いてはいけない
愛するかわりに書いてはいけない
花とかくとき
花はたしかに失われる
紙の上に足をひきずると
いのちはたしかにかるくなったので
私は足もとを消しに歩きまわる
すると私のうしろに新しい足あとが
またついてある
As this poem is about how one uses the Discipline to not destroy oneself, one of the 8 limbs of yoga popped up in my head as it is that Discipline or Restraint (for harm to self and others) that will ultimately save us, preserves us, empowers us to live a more fulfilling yogic (that of content and inner peace) life.
YAMA – “Restraint, moral disciplines or moral promise/vows”
Yama is the first limb or the principal. There are 5 YAMAS in the practice of yoga.
There are five Yamas:
Recommended Reading: “Light on The Yoga Sutras” by BKS Iyengar
My Own Awareness
As your hearts and minds wither, the fault does not lie in others
It’s you who lazily neglected to water them
As you become more stubborn, it’s not your friend’s faultYou are the one who lost the flexibility
When annoyed and irritated, let’s not fault your close kin
After all, it’s more that you did not handle everything with ease
As that Beginner’s Mind fade and disappear, do not blame the demands of daily living. Ultimately isn’t the blame on the feeble determination, weak dedication.
All problems we face, let’s not blame the world we live in today, having abandoned the glimmer of reverence for our principals
For God’s sake, Protect your own sensitivity
(You alone possess the power to refine your very own awareness)
What an idiot !
Noriko Ibaragi
Another tough poem to translate … what an idiot I am. Every translation is a subtle betrayal of the original. Knowing that and to still translate is a sign that I am a real idiot. That I admit to being.
Am an Idiot … only redeeming quality of it is that I am authentically … an idiot.
I love Noriko Ibaragi – our mother’s and grandmother’s generation, we had a woman poet like this … is something that we should all take pride in.
She is such a badda.. – oh, cannot make myself say it – such a prude and … yes, an idiot that I am.
My own poetry too embarrassed to share but perhaps someday it is to be recited during the practice. Anyway –
Gotta go water my goodies to remain flexible and aware through the daily practice. Namaste:)