Five Wise Lines from Tsurezuregusa by Kenkō

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Yoshida Kenkō by Kikuchi Yosai [Date Unknown]

There is much to admire, though, in a dedicated recluse.

Kenkō Yoshida, Essays in Idleness (No. 1)

Going on a journey, whatever the destination, makes you feel suddenly awake and alive to everything.

Kenkō Yoshida, Essays in IdleNess (No. 15)

You can find solace for all things by looking at the moon.

Kenkō Yoshida, Essays in Idleness (no. 21)

Something left not quite finished is very appealing, a gesture toward the future.

Kenkō Yoshida, Essays in Idleness (No. 82)

It’s in easy places that mistakes will always occur.

Kenkō Yoshida, Essays in Idleness (No. 109)

CITATION: Kenkō Yoshida & Kamo no Chōmei. 2013. Kenkō and Chōmei: Essays in Idleness and Hōjōki. London: Penguin. 206pp.

Waiting on the Cascade [Haiku]

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the falls dwindle.
 rain clouds in the distance.
  all eyes await the swell.

Dead-Eyed [Haiku]

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dead-eyed crow,
 heat shimmers off rock...
  CAW!

DAILY PHOTO: Seaside Shrines, Goa

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Queen of Slaves [Lyric Poem]

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Of all the masters & all the slaves,
   I find that mind fire burns in waves.
 And sometimes the emotions derail
   too quickly to lengthen the exhale. 

 Trees falling in the forest, unheard,
   can still crush a nest of baby birds.
 Turns out it's not the sound that matters,
    but what the destruction leaves in tatters.

The phrase “Queen of Slaves” comes from a Percy Bysshe Shelley poem (Canto 4, No. 24)

Cathedral City [Haiku]

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city streets
 under vaulted dome:
  ribbed by rain tree.

DAILY PHOTO: Budapest from Gellért Hill

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Ubiquity [Blank Verse]

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I ran into a seeker from far lands,
 and asked him what he sought in my hometown.
  He said he sought what's true and beautiful.
  I asked him if it was here, more than his home?

"Sometimes you have to walk a thousand miles
  to find that which resides beneath your nose.
   To unlock truth, the tumblers must align
    from the shake of experience and time."

Bougainvillea [Haiku]

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Bougainvilleas, 
 densely blossomed, 
  nonplussed by rain clouds.