Shard

[bi_janus]

Shard

Bi Janus

The verse is a shard,

found in situ

in a certain layer.

I brush the dirt away

with camel hair of vocal cords,

slowly sounding its contours.

If I speak other shards,

I may piece a pot together

and hold it up before me.

I cannot know

if the potter was a saint

or a murderous heart.

[Camy]

I like.

[Richard Norway]

The most important thing about Bi Janus' work is that he makes you think. I enjoy that. Not so much for the challenge, but for the opportunity to think, really use my mind. It's as refreshing as breathing in fresh mountain air and opening my eyes and mind to the world around me.

I'm in awe, because I can't do what he does, but by reading his words, he makes me a part of this world.

[Merkin]

It would be nice to think that we will be remembered by more than fragments of our work. Yet even a fragment of what remains of the Library at Alexandria has been enough to pulse the blood and excite the mind.

[DesDownunder]

What an extraordinary cross cultural poem. The rational analysis of the West meets the paradoxical intuition of the East.

[Chris James]

Discovering a shard of pottery is like finding a piece of yourself. Marveling at such a small thing, imagining the whole and wondering if you will ever discover the rest. I think bi_janus is onto something here well beyond the stanzas of his poem. In each response to his posting I see the seeds of thought planted in the writer. Well done.

[DesDownunder]

I see the same thing Chris.

I am reminded of Tennyson's short poem

Flower in the crannied wall,

I pluck you out of the crannies;-

Hold you here, root and all, in my hand,

Little flower - but if I could understand

What you are, root and all, and all in all,

I should know what God and Man is.

Compare this with the *haiku poem from the 17th century poet, Basho:

When I look carefully

I see the

nazuna

blooming

By the hedge!

Whatever the intentions, there is a wealth of wonder to be found here, not the least of which is the parallel between Tennyson's destructive analysis by plucking the flower, "root and all", and Basho's passive observation.

When looked at, not in competition, but with bi-janus' Shards, we may well marvel at his ability to incorporate the active western analysis and passive eastern observation, in one poem that deals with the mystery of life

I can't help but think the vocal cord breath of camel hair brushing the contours with gentle sound is one of the greatest 'sound and vision' images, I have read. Perfect!

*Haiku poems traditionally have 17 syllables, is it mere coincidence that bi-janus' superbly rational last stanza has 17 syllables?