Tuesday, May 02, 2006
A Poem for Mukujiki Shonin
On my post for April 25, I described the fascinating wood carving made by a Japanese itinerant monk in the nineteenth century. Here is the poem I subsequently wrote about him:
Mukujiki Shonin
Mukujiki Shonin,
fat-faced Buddhist monk,
traveled village to village
carving tokens of his craft
(the village elders,
the waterfall)
even as he went.
This is his life-sized
self-portrait in wood
at 86,
round belly sagging
through his well worn gown.
smile with
twinkling eyes,
though his teeth are
no longer there
to prop his
sagging jowls.
How much misery
and grief
he must have met
along his way.
How much suffering
he must have witnessed
in that hostile world.
Yet he is still smiling
with his toothless grin.
How happy he seems.
How content he was
with all things,
as he patiently released
each image
from the waiting wood.
April 26, 2006
Mukujiki Shonin
Mukujiki Shonin,
fat-faced Buddhist monk,
traveled village to village
carving tokens of his craft
(the village elders,
the waterfall)
even as he went.
This is his life-sized
self-portrait in wood
at 86,
round belly sagging
through his well worn gown.
smile with
twinkling eyes,
though his teeth are
no longer there
to prop his
sagging jowls.
How much misery
and grief
he must have met
along his way.
How much suffering
he must have witnessed
in that hostile world.
Yet he is still smiling
with his toothless grin.
How happy he seems.
How content he was
with all things,
as he patiently released
each image
from the waiting wood.
April 26, 2006
