Unfathomable in Meditation
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
The peony made
Him measure it with his fan,
The daimyo’s fan.
~ Issa
[A haiku expanded by Phillip Whidden]
Some things are large. Some things are larger yet.
One peony is glorious yet small.
Arrange it in a vase, in a duet,
With yet another flawless one, a tall
One on a longer stem, perfection grows.
Another is so huge it strains belief
Until an Oriental fan’s length shows
No doubt of doubled elegance. A sheaf
Of blossoms magnifies perfection still
Again. Above them through a window frame
The Milky Way sends out a starry frill
Across a vaster sky, a star-strewn flame.
..Beyond the peonies and stars aligned
…..Are depths and heights too large for all but mind.