I recently had the long-delayed pleasure of watching Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams. The movie is a collection of several vignettes, said to be based on dreams that the renowned director had himself. Each vignette is enigmatic, asking more questions than answers, leaving the watcher wondering how the dream could have developed if the dreamer had stayed asleep. Each vignette is riveting – my eyes never left the screen, as I was drawn into the spectacle. Some episodes are very dark – the Japanese officer returning after WW2, confronted by the ghosts of his dead unit appearing from the mouth of a tunnel, or the demons, tormented by their three horns, writhing in agony by deep, red pools. Some episodes are visually amazing, such as the one where the dreamer meets van Gogh, and wanders through a landscape of his paintings. The final episode is a hopeful one, featuring a funeral procession that is full of joy and celebration.
In the very first vignette the dreamer is himself as a little boy. He wanders off into the forest and happens to spy upon the wedding procession of the kitsune-foxes, the wily fox spirits. Their procession is slow and strange, and punctuated by sudden stops and stealthy glances as though suspecting the approach of danger.
I was captivated by this scene, and so the illustrations to this showcase are based on the kitsune-foxes of legend. Most of these are old prints, as far as I can tell, and out of copyright; though if anyone knows different, please put me straight.
The future of the zen space:
Putting together this Showcase has proved to be a bit of a struggle. I can’t rightly remember whose work I held back for inclusion – I’ve done my best, but if I have forgotten anyone, please forgive me. All this convinces me that, yes, I ought to step down as editor, and it is still my intention to do so in 2024. However, no replacement editor has yet been found. I think therefore I am faced with two choices: the first is to shut down the zen space altogether; the second is to try to run it with an annual appearance.
One of the problems about running it at all is the lack of new artwork. With the exception of one recent contributor, it has been a long time since I have done anything but get an idea and scavenge the internet for images. Maybe I should have been more proactive, but I can’t see the situation improving at this stage.
Anyhow, thank you for being here today. Without any further ado, here are today’s offerings, and for these I give a vote of thanks to the contributors and apologies for the formatting problems which, on WordPress, are relentless and defy remedy.
MM
editor
the zen space
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Chen-ou Liu
an unmoored sailboat
one-step-forwards, two-steps-back
of our love affair
ocean breeze
a flotilla
of fish ducks
:
a dove mirrors
the first rays of winter sun
hospice window
:
a sliver of moon
before and after
divorce talk
:
a snail
unfolding after the rain
while I gaze up
at Mount Fuji —
this long journey, and yet …
(for Kobayashi Issa)
:
I wake alone
to the dim winter light
this treadmill feeling
of going on and on
for no reason
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Patrick Sweeney
first warm day
stink bug threatens
to leave home
:
palmist reading
what’s written all over
my face
:
sign-ups for firefly viewing
I lied about
my age
:
sun shower
washing away
her Siegfried Line
:
monkfish
eliciting dreams
from the depths
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Steve van Allen
Red winged blackbirds
bounce on pond grass
old bullfrog sound
:
Tiny spider
thin line to a leaf
wind – gone
:
Mother’s day balloons
block the sun
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(Stepping out from the usual practice of the zen space, I am including this single, longer piece. MM.)
Fabrice B. Poussin
Alone so Close
Terrified to leave what is familiar
he reconsidered the journey to utmost loneliness
leaving behind everything that gave him a reason
to live where so little seems to make sense any more.
Too many plans had been made, yet few knew,
thus it was too late to change his mind
he must then get behind those wheels
and drive alone, on the way to the unknown.
It would be a long trek scattered with doubt
difficult as he climbed western mountains
to find a roof never to be his home
undertake hikes to nowhere.
But he found something like solace
in the early hours of the day when no one dared to brave sleepless hours
on paths reserved for those with no one to lose.
Day upon day, he continued on his exploration
of a land suffering from the heat of the desert
resting in the evening sun, and pondered
that suddenly there was no loneliness in his life.
As he faced east again, he found peace
for he knew to be alone was enough
when he realized he never was so isolated as
in the midst of those who pretend to know his name.
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(Yet more unusually presented work. Content warning – sexual imagery and language. MM.)
Tohm Bakelas
SURGERY DAY
friday afternoon, surgical
center, tonsillectomy—
fuck this
:
TIMELINE
two week recovery,
thirty pills given, no
refills—must conserve…
:
MY REALITY 2
tongue swollen, voice shot,
starving, terrified to eat—
strung out on codeine
:
IT WAS WORTH IT
codeine got me horny,
jerk off, pass out— later
wake to cat staring
:
KEEPING COOL
fixated on time, paranoid
watching clocks— outside
i feed the birds
:
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF?
recreationally taking
unused pain meds—
all for the poems
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Pablo Cuzco
(from the collection Old Buddha Sky)
I don’t need a college degree
to grow old. I’ll just fit into it like a
worn out pair of shoes.
:
There is danger everywhere
I walk. Who says there is danger?
My bones might break.
:
After all the promises have been broken
what’s left? An empty jar sits on the shelf
with the potted plants.
:
The lights climb up the sides
of New York City skyscrapers—blip blip blip
Like ladders to the old Buddha sky.
:
Wakeful and invisible,
I gather my dreams in baskets
and toss them to the sea.
:
Orange blossoms fall.
The train tracks wind their way
along the Gulf Coast I walk.
:
We are a generation of
bodhisattvas. Travelers on the road to satori,
who sleep with eyes wide open.
__________
Randy Brooks
Mother’s sweaters
in the bottom drawer
a mouse nest
:
harvest fields
enough moonlight to change
a flat tire
:
hole in the duckweed
where the frog
plopped in
:
hospital waiting room
intermittent fish tank
burbles
:
in the kayak
daddy-long-leg hikes over
my hairy-ness
:
the many languages
she knows
my backscratcher
__________
Monica Kakkar
kigo
*****
1
when will you remove
your wraparound sunglasses?
sunflower is still
*****
2
cloudburst leftover
savors steaming hot summer—
dinnerplate dahlia
*****
3
ebony bijou
juxtaposes on azure—
damsel in daylight
*****
4
new moon awakens
eyeleted obsidian—
flecks of fireflies
*****
5
shadow puppetry
aromatic alchemy—
wind chimes in temple
*****
6
lulls in the bouquet
last summer chrysanthemum—
melancholia
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Afterword:
As always, I am looking out for new “names” who can write haiku, senryu, and/or any short-burst in-the-moment poetry. Also original artwork. Please get in touch.
The next Showcase at the zen space will be Winter 2024 which will be released, subject to karma, on 1st January 2024.
Please note that the copyright of all written work and images used in this Showcase and elsewhere in the zen space is held by the creating author/artist, even when not explicitly stated, and may not be used elsewhere without permission.
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[Any advertisements etc. below this line, or inserted elsewhere in the zen space, are an unfortunate feature of the hosting platform, and are not the responsibility of the editor of the zen space. They should not be considered to have been endorsed by the zen space or by the editor personally.]
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:
the zen space 