Alan Summers
First publication credits: Azami #28 (Japan, 1995)
Anthology: The Temple Bell Stops: Contemporary Poems of Grief, Loss and Change (Modern English Tanka Press 2012)
And inter-relationships in nature, and how we can hopefully "inter-rely" on each other as in the rain off the sea that feeds the clouds that feeds the earth that feeds the food crops and much more.
But when that cycle gets corrupted, when things break down, where do we find consolation?
The sea is often seen as a womb, going back.
I'm not saying that the haiku is about this, but it's certainly powerful enough for me, and a journey into what I perceive as possible layers of understanding and perception.
The ambiguity of the linear arrangement of words creates images which cycle round in my mind – a visceral experience of the water cycle itself which begins and ends always in the sea.
But that opening word – "consolation". Ah, there you take us out of nature, into metaphysics and spirituality.
April 18th, 2014 at 12:17 pm
very nice!
April 18th, 2014 at 1:40 pm
consolation in each raindrop the sea
—Stella Pierides
Consolation
in each raindrop
in each raindrop
the sea
There can be consolation in each raindrop
e.g.
the rain
almost a friend
this funeral
Alan Summers
First publication credits: Azami #28 (Japan, 1995)
Anthology: The Temple Bell Stops: Contemporary Poems of Grief, Loss and Change (Modern English Tanka Press 2012)
And inter-relationships in nature, and how we can hopefully "inter-rely" on each other as in the rain off the sea that feeds the clouds that feeds the earth that feeds the food crops and much more.
But when that cycle gets corrupted, when things break down, where do we find consolation?
The sea is often seen as a womb, going back.
I'm not saying that the haiku is about this, but it's certainly powerful enough for me, and a journey into what I perceive as possible layers of understanding and perception.
Alan
April 25th, 2014 at 11:02 am
Alan, how can the Anthology be purchased?
moonlace
April 25th, 2014 at 11:22 am
Dear Frances,
Alas it doesn't seem available anymore, even on Abebooks, really sorry about that. A very successful anthology but no second print run it seems.
warm regards,
Alan
April 18th, 2014 at 1:45 pm
we are all part of a larger
that's what this poem says to me
"consolation in each raindrop the sea"
and recognizing this shared smallness
is a comfort
April 19th, 2014 at 1:21 am
Dear Stella, Beautiful. We've had rain here, which our Lake Michigan needed.
April 19th, 2014 at 4:23 am
This is wonderful, Stella. I see the sea in those raindrops… our origins
Theresa C.
April 20th, 2014 at 12:28 pm
Love it, Stella … thank you, Don at Lilliput
April 25th, 2014 at 12:01 am
This is perfect, Stella!
The ambiguity of the linear arrangement of words creates images which cycle round in my mind – a visceral experience of the water cycle itself which begins and ends always in the sea.
But that opening word – "consolation". Ah, there you take us out of nature, into metaphysics and spirituality.
A truly wonderful poem! Thank you for sharing it.
Strider
April 26th, 2014 at 3:29 pm
consolation in each raindrop the sea
Yes, all individual, each containing the whole. Separate, yet not. In each teardrop the sea, too.
Nicely done Stella.