a stone woman
gives birth to a child
in the night
my book falls open
to the words, I need...
Jenny Ward Angyal
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在夜晚
一位石女生下
一個孩子
我的書跌落在地上
打開到下述的話,我需要...
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在夜晚
一位石女生下
一个孩子
我的书跌落在地上
打开到下述的话,我需要...
Bio Sketch
Jenny
Ward Angyal lives with her husband and one Abyssinian cat on a small
organic farm in Gibsonville, NC, USA. She composed her first poem at
the age of five. Her tanka and other poems have appeared in various
print and online journals and may also be found on her blog, The Grass Minstrel
(Author's Note: The quotation is from Mountains and Rivers Sutra by Japanese Soto Zen Master Dogen Kigen, 1200–1253)
(Author's Note: The quotation is from Mountains and Rivers Sutra by Japanese Soto Zen Master Dogen Kigen, 1200–1253)
The upper verse successfully sets the thematic and emotive context while the tone ("the book falling open without effort") of the lower verse fits with the quotation in a religious sense.
ReplyDeleteAnd the concluding phrase, I need, combined with the effective use of "...," sparks the reader's reflection on the thematic significance and spiritual meaning of a "stone woman" giving birth to a child.
Excerpted from Zen Master Dogen's "Mountains and Rivers Sutra:"
ReplyDeletePriest Daokai of Mt. Furong said to the assembly, "The green mountains are always walking; a stone woman gives birth to a child at night."