willdabeast

ahhhh.. one of my favorites, now i'm all misty eyed...

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 2004 1:31 PM

lack of sleep has me in bad mood overall today. so, to help i'd thought i would post some of my favorite poems

my favorites seems to lean towards asian poetry. haiku/tanka/japanese death poems/passages from the Tao Te Ching. simple, direct getting to the heart of the matter.

live in simple faith...
just as this
trusting cherry
flowers,fades,and falls
-issa

life? butterfly
on a swaying grass
that is all.....
but exquisite!
-soin

here's a poem from a book of japanese death poems ( which i could not find at this writing ) .

all my life i have sharpened my sword.

and now, face to face with death i unsheath it.

but alas! the blade is broken!

heh that one makes me smile everytime.

here are a few of the shorter passages from the Tao Te Ching.

when taxes are too high,
people go hungry
when the government is to intrusive
people lose their spirit
act for the peoples benefit
trust them; leave them alone



if you realize all things change,
there is nothing you willtry to hold on to
if you aren't afraid of dying
there is nothing you can't achieve.
trying to control the future
is like trying to take the master carpenters place
when you handle the master carpenters tools, chances are that you'll cut your hand

when they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion
when they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend upon authority
therefore the master steps back
so that people won't be confused
he teaches without teaching,
so that people wil have nothing to learn.

i'm in a much better mood now