Love and Affection

This poem was excerpted from Sky Above, Great Wind: The Life and Poetry of Zen Master Ryōkan (page 2). It was translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi.

What I found most fascinating about Ryōkan (1758-1831) is not that he lived much of his life as a hermit and a beggar, or that in spite of never heading a temple or monastery, he is considered one of the three giants of Zen, and has become one of the most popular poets in Japanese history.

Something inside me was moved by his words because I understand them. Some days you’d like to tell your boss off, yell at your beloved, or run away from it all. That’s when you have to take a breath and remember what you truly want.

Because April is National Poetry Month, our Pine Island Poetry Meet has no specific assignment for 27 April. We are inviting our muse to have fun. As a tribute to my knowing I am the only barrier to my own happiness, I am sharing “Laid to Rest,” an Insult Poem.

NOTE: AN INSULT POEM OFFERS A WAY FOR THE POET TO EXPRESS ANGER WITHOUT ENGAGING IN A TOTAL SNARK FEST; THE MAIN HALLMARKS OF AN INSULT POEM ARE HUMOR AND EXAGGERATION. INSULT POEMS DO NOT GENERALLY DEAL IN UNIVERSAL THEMES—THEY ARE PERSONAL AND ARE DIRECTED TO A SPECIFIC PERSON OR GROUP. HOWEVER, THESE POEMS ARE ARTISTIC IN THAT THEY EMPHASIZE THE POET’S VERBAL SUPERIORITY WITH WORDS (AS OPPOSED TO DOWN AND DIRTY FIGHTING AND NAME-CALLING).

Laid to Rest

You think you’re so smart
You think you’re so wise
The truth is your blindness
Can be seen in your eyes

You hide behind intellect
Totally failing to feel
Cast your net of blame
Miss the chance to be real

You open your mouth
And close down your heart
You wax eloquently on
Playing your part

Someday maybe
you’ll see
Beauty so near
lurking in me

But whatever may come
As the years pass us by
Too swiftly for most
Gone in the wink of an eye

For now I forgive me
for not giving you
the space to be
the freedom to do

Our past is now gone
a shadow at best
too soon, my dear friend
we’ll both be laid to rest

Debra Basham 3-21-2017

I recall the day I stood in my kitchen and spat out an announcement: “I wish I could just run away!”

My husband looked straight ahead and calmly replied, “What keeps you from doing that?”

Tears filled my eyes and spilled out onto my cheeks. “I cannot think of anywhere I can go that I will not be there.”

I loved reading that as an old man Ryōkan fell in love with a young Zen nun. She became his student and the poems of his later period are influenced by his affection for her.

I’m glad he recognized there is something better than playing alone. I am glad he chose love and affection….