A Silly Poem

Furuya's Law: Learn the art from the heart!

Happier poems, they say,

Happier from where, I ask.

The happier road from where you come,

Please bring it here to me!

Happy, Happy, Happy,

Said with such sad faces,

Sad poems are not so sad,

Of which silly, romantic dreams can speak!

Smiling with such gloomy faces

Laughing just to hide the tears,

Enjoy my poems of loneliness,

Don't read them with such fears

 

Then she asked, "Black or green?"

And the dragon laughed,

For his name was Oolong...

Who would drink who?

Aiki passion of mutual loss of self

Tea is tea,

And me is me,

But who is who?

If you are you?

Target, leap, strike!

But the target is gone

A light touch whirls me

No control

Safe

Laughing, I fall

A flying leaf on a wise wind

It can only be seen,

Running to and fro

But in stillness. . . .

Where did the wind go?

~~I will be tea,

I will be wind,

I might be you in this romp,

My new found friend...

NOW is the moment.

Always approaching; always receding.

All my tiny Nows strung together.

They penetrate then, spinning, shoot off of me

In all directions.

No...wait..!

NOW is the moment!

Wait...language obsessed with linear

Temporal movement

Obscuring the truth that--

NOW is the moment!

My brain is melting.

No spinning, no lines flowing,

Only this resonating point.

But I cannot handle this high-velocity

Stillness;

Cannot take this...imtimacy...for long.

...NOW is the moment...

I cannot hold the point; cannot hold on.

Shattering and remaking me

At a speed beyond my conceptualization.

AAHHH! How can I survive this?

(shhhh) now is the moment

There is no duration, no one point, no I

To survive.

Only permeation.

--NOW IS! the moment--

No with or without.

Not what I'd thought...

There once was a Sensei from L.A.

Who ventured into some wordplay

His Aikido was hot, his rhyming was not

But we enjoyed his repartee anyway!

Who stifles this genius with pen in hand,

I can whip out these ryhmes on instant demand,

I'll keep my day job, as you say,

If all this stuff don't make your day!

One more poet bites the dust,

Back to my Aikido before it rusts!

Hahaha!

You guys are sooo harsh on me. . . . I have already given up singing and tuba lessons at all my students requests. . . . (Just kidding!)

i did not see

it coming

there was

no mat to

land upon

i made no threat

yet here is retaliation

emotional ukemi

i could not roll with

this one

scrape my entrails from the walls

and floor

and i will practice vigilance

grow eyes behind my head

get my heart off the line

practice the difficult task

of not exchanging hurt

for hurt

how can i love

while waiting for the swinging blade

to cut me down again?

Cut me once and I will die,

But who can kill the cherry blossoms of Spring?

I like your poem very much! It reminds me of a very famous story about a priest in ancient China. He was confronted by some barbarian warriors but refused to cooperate with them. The leader said, "If you don't confess, I will cut off your head off in one stroke of my blade!"

The priest smiled at him said, "It is easy to cut off my head, please go ahead, but can you cut the cherry blossoms which bloom each Spring?"

The leader was dumbfounded at the priest's wisdom and quietly left him in Peace.

Of course, our physical bodies are impermanent and subject to injury, age, sickness and death. But we are admonished here to become like the cherry blossoms which never fail to come back each Spring as if they are eternal. . . . In Aikido, we try to become our greater selves - in oneness with the universe and thereby become eternal and no longer subject to petty threats and even death. . . . Of course, we are talking metaphysically here but I feel this priest so wonderfully understood the concept of "no-enemy" which we strive each day to understand in our Aikido training. Your poem reminded me of this story, - very, very nice poem you have written here. Thank you!

Thinking a little more about your poem, it also reminds me of another story about a famous warlord during the Age of Civil Wars in Japan. Just before the battle, he had many doubts and went to his Zen master for instruction. From this event, a famous quote came about: "Hesitate and open the gates of hell, just raise the sword above your head and go forth and open the Gates of Paradise!"

With this spiritual determination, he won the battle!

Thanks again. I know you will win your battles in your Aikido practice too!

A very powerful and telling poem there, Jo...and to me, a familiar feeling. Thanks so much for sharing it --- keep it up!

Wow, thats an awesome poem Jo! Furuya sensei, dont let these spoilsports halt your poetry

Aaaaaah, finally someone with a kind word for me! Many thanks,

to have been Seen

perhaps in comprehension

to have touched

in some healing way

to have blended

in some way

filling my eyes, my heart

with tears

can i be even softer?

can i soften and survive?

thank you all

Furuya Sensei

i eagerly anticipate and read every word you write in every posting on this forum. if ever i am in LA i hope to meet you and see your dojo.

thank you for your experience, your wisdom & your kindness

~~Wonderful poems, Jo! Thank you~~

Aikido is the Wonderful Tree,

With roots growing so strong and free,

Soft and hard is not the key,

Strong or weak is never me,

Seek the One, not two, not three,

Don't show yourself to all but me,

Not him, nor I, but only thee.

In thee, the Greater One to see.

Practice like the far, far sea,

Its Form to grasp forever be.

The above poem is for Jo Adell. Many thanks for your kind words, greatly appreciated!

wow.

no one has ever written a poem for me.

thank you.

Really? Well, you are quite welcome.

Also many thanks to Holmes King for your very beautiful message. I wish you and the Mrs. all the best in your training. . . . .

Old Chinese Proverb: One kind word can warm a heart for three winters.

Wonderful poems everyone. I used to write poems many years ago when I was at school. I remember very very clearly when I was 12 my teacher telling me to keep it up because before you knew it you will have stopped and years will have passed by. Well I didn't learn from his words and he was quite right!

I haven't written a poem in over 10 years. Caught up in all the unimportant 'important things'.

A bit like Aikido for some people - they miss one lesson and suddenly they find they have been off the mat for a decade. Just such a person returned to our dojo on Monday. At least he found his way back.

Please keep up the poems - and share them here!

I have been studying Japanese poetry for many years but it is much too difficult for me to write easily and well. Traditional poetry lies at the foundation of all traditional Japanese arts and philosophy. The best I can do was these silly little ryhmes and ditties. The earliest reference I have found to "kotodama" was in the early Heian Period in Japan where it was first utilized as a poetic aesthetic.

At the moment, writing poems is just a nice diversion for me from my work. . .

This has turned into quite a thread, some great expressions here, thanks Furuya Sensei! I Thought I'd share something myself....



A seed gathers dust on a window ledge,

no sign of life but still living.

Abundance is held within,

life, virtue, wholesomeness,

but what can a seed do on a ledge?

Waiting, time passes by,

everything changes,

but every thing just the same,

a storm brews.....

The window flys open,

shaking and spinning on the ledge,

closer, closer still, feeling the wind..

a droplet of rain!

......the storm subsides

A seed gathers dust on a window ledge,

a touch of a hand sends it falling,

finally touching the earth.

What will make it grow?

what will it become?

who knocked it from it's ledge?!!

WHY!! WHY!! WHY??

it matters not......

just be sure when the window of opportunity opens,

you are pushed in the right direction.

*****************************************

When stuck for a thought,

don't think,

Let your mind become free,

like a blink,

As the smile grows,

because you already know,

Aikido is the fountain,

Now Drink!!





cheers,

Rob