“I cried over beautiful things knowing that no beautiful thing lasts … the old things go, not one lasts.”
~ From ‘Autumn Movement’ by Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)
This is why we need poetry, both to remind us of our fragility and impermanence and at the same time, move us to bring beauty into our lives.
The poems in today’s post all focus on impermanence, a theme that has preoccupied Eastern poets for thousands of years. I include profoundly moving poems from the Bible, poems by Chinese poets of the Tang dynasty and works by Persian and Islamic poets such as Rumi. I also include poems by Western authors like Rainer Maria Rilke, Pablo Neruda and Jane Hirschfield among others. May their words teach us to be more mindful of our limited time on earth and inspire us to savor’s life’s ever-present beauty amid the perpetual shadow of death.
EASTERN POEMS
THEY ARE LIKE GRASS (Book of Psalms)
They are like grass that sprouts anew
In the morning it flourishes
and sprouts anew. By evening
it fades and withers.
~ Psalm 90:5-6
THE BIRDS HAVE VANISHED by Li Po
The birds have vanished into the sky,
and now the last clouds drain away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.
~ Li Po (701-762)
Li Po, also known as Li Bai was the preeminent poet of China’s mighty Tang dynasty. Despite this glorious era, he wrote many poems that explore the theme of loneliness, freedom and existential concerns. This short poem, with its many-layered meanings, is one of his most famous.
MAGNOLIA VALLEY by Wang Wei
At treetop’s edge, magnolias bloom,
Crimson petals light the mountain’s gloom.
By the silent stream, no soul is near,
Profusely they blossom and fall,
year after year.
Written by Wang Wei (701–761), another brilliant Tang poet, these short lines capture what is so common – the fleeting beauty of nature unnoticed by the souls too caught up with the affairs of this world. Centuries later, inattention would be a theme that is revisited by some Western poets.
THE WORDS OF RUMI (1207-1273)
Rumi was one of the greatest Eastern mystics and poets of all time. Born in Afghanistan to a Persian-speaking family, he wrote exclusively in the Persian language, words of great beauty that continue to resonate today. Here is the voice of Rumi on the impermanence of life.
“You don’t live on the earth; you are just passing.”
“I learned that every mortal
will taste death
but only some
will taste life.”
The Japanese are great innovators of words that have deep philosophical meanings. One of these is “mujo” which conveys the idea that that all things are transitory, fleeting, and constantly changing. Mujo also implies that one ought to enjoy every moment to its fullest, knowing that nothing lasts, a sentiment that is concisely expressed in this poem by Izumi Shikibu (976-1030).
COME QUICKLY by Izumi Shikibu
Come quickly – as soon as
these blossoms open,
they fall.
This world exists
as a sheen of dew
on flowers.
Next, a profound haiku by Matsuo Basho from the 17th century entitled ‘Summer Grasses’
SUMMER GRASSES by Basho
Summer grasses –
what’s left
of warriors’ dreams.
~ Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)
Matsuo Basho is the undisputed master of the haiku form of poetry, and this powerful poem clearly shows why. In just three short lines, we are left picturing a scene where battles were once fought for the glory of conquest only to be forgotten years later when the victors become the vanquished, eventually returning to earth as dust. The lesson that Basho wish to convey is clear: all our strivings on earth will ultimately amount to nothing, with the implication that more lasting meaning can only be found in other realms, presumably spiritual.
Back to the Bible, here is a well-known verse from Isaiah 40:8 written nearly 3,000 years ago.
The grass withers,
the flowers fade,
but the word of our God
endures forever.
~ Isaiah (8th century BCE), based on the Hebrew texts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
WESTERN POEMS
Jane Hirshfield (b. 1952) is an American poet of great depth and eloquence. Here is one poem that reminds us how quickly and stealthily time disappears, which adds to the urgency to soak in every moment, like a songbird in the joyous urgency of it all.
A DAY IS VAST by Jane Hirschfield
A day is vast.
Until noon.
Then it’s over.
Yesterday’s pondwater
braided still wet in my hair.
I don’t know what time is.
You can’t ever find it.
But you can lose it.
No one begins each day expecting to vanish from the face of the earth, which is why this next poem by the ever-popular American poet, Billy Collins, is a good reminder of how everything is more uncertain and fragile than we think.
THE ORDER OF THE DAY by Billy Collins
A morning after a week of rain
and the sun shot down
through the branches
into the tall, bare windows.
The bridled cat rolled on his back,
and I could hear you in the kitchen
grinding coffee beans into a powder.
Everything seemed especially vivid
because I knew we were all going to die,
first the cat, then you, then me.
Then somewhat later the liquified sun
was the order I was envisioning.
But then again, you never really know.
How then should we live? Leave it to the vivid imaginations of poets! Here’s one suggestion – a poem by the great German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) entitled ” Does Time, as it passes, really destroy?”
DOES TIME, AS IT PASSES, REALLY DESTROY? By Rainer Maria Rilke
Does Time, as it passes, really destroy?
It may rip the fortress from its rock;
but can this heart, that belongs to God,
be torn from Him by circumstance?
Ah, the knowledge of impermanence
that haunts our days
is their very fragrance.
We in our striving think we should last forever,
but could we be used by the Divine
if we were not ephemeral?
~ From In Praise of Mortality: Rilke’s Duino Elegies & Sonnets to Orpheus, by Rainer Maria Rilke / Translated by Joanna Macy.
For those less spiritually inclined, here’s another suggestion on how to live to the fullest in a jaunty piece called “Idea”.
IDEA by Kate Baer
I will enjoy this life. I will open it
like a peach in season, suck the juice
from every finger, run my tongue over
my chin. I will not worry about cliches
or uninvited guests peering into my windows.
I will love and be loved. Save and be saved
a thousand times. I will let the want into
my body, bless the heat under my skin.
My life. I will not waste it.
I will enjoy this life.
~ Kate Baer
A similar sentiment is beautifully echoed by the late Irish poet, John O’Donohue.
FLUENT by John O’ Donohue
I would like to live
like a river flows,
carried by the surprise
of its own unfolding.
Of course, it is not always about “me”. Many an enlightened soul has found meaning by leaving legacies that serve as footprints, guiding those who come after them. In that sense, they transcend their own mortality. Here’s a short poem that alludes to that sense of transcendence.
SUMMER SOLSTICE by Jenny Zhang
Summer solstice
will be significant.
I’m going to release something
soft and radiant and true
into the world.
~ Jenny Zhang (b. 1983)
