Peace that Passeth Understanding
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
So no kuraki
yo woshizuka naru
botan kana
The garden is dark
In the night, and quiet
The peony.
~ Shirao
The garden, dark with night, does not expect
A visitation. Petal stillness waits
For nothing. Waits. No special Buddhist sect
Is known to worship peonies in states
Of meditation in the moon’s hushed hours.
No normal pilgrims will step out from rooms
Of paper walls of rice to view the flowers
Since silence fills the shrine. The frills of blooms
Expect a peaceful set of dreams without
Disturbance, so the bushes settle in
For restfulness, their blossoms, leaving doubt
Behind, decide tonight will see no sin
Against an abbot’s contemplation. Quite
The opposite . . . they settle in their white.