Haiku and Pranayama

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Lisa Walford

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Mar 3, 2021, 8:58:06 PM3/3/21
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This morning I began class with a modern Haiku. Brief, succinct, it set the tone for our pranayama session. In reviewing the history of Haiku, I am reminded of a new phenomenon. Cultural appropriation. Hiaku originated in Japan and, as with traditional sonnets, was guided by very particular verse structures and meters. Writers the world over were inspired by these terse and evocative poems. Nature was the prime motif for Haiku, each image would either dovetail, compliment, or complete a moment in time. I find that, while modern Haiku takes great liberties and even discards the original form of Haiku, the intention behind these verses is still there. I am grateful to one of the prominent Japanese masters of Haiku, Matsuo Basho, for his contributions to Haiku!
Rabindranath Tagore is now considered a saint, poet, philosopher, social reformer and mystic. I often quote him from a very small book I purchased in India called Stray Birds. Here is one of his "Haikus". Meru Groen is a contemporary poet living in Idaho.  His is what I read before the pranayama class. "When now never ends". How appropriate!        

The butterfly counts not months but moments,
and has time enough.  Rabindranath Tagore (circa 1915) 

an ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water. Matsuo Basho (1686) 

Haiku

The Way of Wisdom – Meru Groen

problems pass right by

difficult to hold onto

when now never ends.

 

The Dream of the Butterfly

He dreamed he could fly on gossamer wings,

and understands now why the sparrow sings.

It all seemed so real he never thought twice,

that a joy like that would come with a price.

 

He thought to himself I'm living the dream,

but what are the costs that are left unseen?

Could the butterfly be dreaming of me,

or somebody else dreaming all three?

 

People walk around as if they were blind,

to refuse to see is the darkest kind!

Others wear glasses the color of rose,

and refuse to see in front of their nose.

 

Then there are a few that you can't believe,

who can make magic nothing up their sleeve.

The world is yours take it in your hand,

every empire will turn back to sand.

 

Every emperor that has been so far,

is now just a name they gave to a star.

This place they call Earth is a mystery,

so live your dreams and let your soul run free!
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