"I omit the usual—the hurricanes and earthquakes—and describe the common. This has the greatest charm and is the true theme of poetry. You may have the extraordinary for your province, if you will let me have the ordinary. Give me the obscure life, the cottage of the poor and humble, the workdays of the world, the barren fields, the smallest share of all things but poetic perception. Give me but the eyes to see the things which you possess."
from The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 28-Aug-1851
A PASSING MOMENT
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This is my rather loose translation of a hokku by Ōemaru, who lived into
the first five years of the 19th century. For a moment,Autumn seen on the
hillsAt ...
9 hours ago
2 comments:
Yeah, Henry! Like the fortune cookie I got last night: "Stop searching forever. Happiness is just next to you." ~Amy @ ever so humble
Yeah, I blogged this too. Damn near sank my entire blog, though. Karmic retribution, perhaps - in endeavoring to "see the things which you possess" I may have cast to covetous an eye . . .
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