dust motes
in a stream of moonlight
death poem
Gabriel Bates
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
塵埃
飄浮在一道月光中
臨終詩
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
尘埃
飘浮在一道月光中
临终诗
Bio Sketch
Gabriel Bates is a contemporary poet living in southeast Kansas. His work has appeared in several journals, online and in print. Keep up with him at facebook.com/gabrieljbates
Technically speaking, an implied simile is effectively established through a pivotal line, "in a stream of moonlight."
ReplyDeleteAnd thematically and religiously speaking, the death poem (jisei in Japanese) is a genre of poetry that has historically developed in the literary traditions of East Asian cultures, most prominently in Zen Japan as well as Chan China. It tends to offer the author's reflection on death that is coupled with an insightful observation on life. In the case of Gabriel's death poem, the visually evocative image of "dust motes/ in a stream of moonlight" (note: the moon is a Buddhist symbol of enlightenment) resonates closely with the thematic and emotional point of a death poem.
For a freebie/ PDF copy of "Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death," complied and with an introduction by Yoel Hoffmann, visit https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Death.pdf
DeleteChen-ou Liu
ReplyDeleteThank you for the analysis of this jisei. Prior, I did not know the word for death poem.
Well Done Gabriel!
Jan Benson