Status Updates From Ο στενός δρόμος προς τα βάθ...

Hoe Bashō zijn innerlijke onrust vastlegd in woorden, wauw! : ‘In this mortal frame of mine which is made of a hundred bones and nine orifices there is something, and this something is called a wind-swept spirit for lack of a better name, for it is much like a thin drapery that is torn and swept away at the slightest stir of the wind.’

‘A lively cherry
In full bloom
Between the two lives
Now made one.’

‘Tiny houses of woodcutters were scattered along the mountain sides, and the sound of an axe on the western slope was echoed by the mountains on the east. The bells from various temples struck deep to the innermost part of my being.’

‘As I stood there, lending my ears to the roar
of pine trees upon distant mountains, I feelt moved deep in the bottom of my heart.

In the utter darkness
Of a moonless night,
A powerful wind embraces
The ancient cedar trees.’

Het was hoog tijd om dit boek te herlezen, een dierbare tekst. Origineel afgerond in 1694 en gepubliceerd in 1702. Ooit zal ik in Bashō’s voetstappen treden en diezelfde routes afleggen in Japan, wanneer de tijd rijp is.

Haven’t read poetry in some time. But I’m enjoying it! It is reflective, pondering nature, and it forces me to digest the words in full.

First time reading a book with a 50 page introduction that I actually enjoy!