Thursday Doors: Zen Garden
the entrance is an enso a glowing blue light
a form that contains nothing inside of the whole
spirit absorbed by essence emptied of ego
in silent simplicity opening, complete
My younger daughter took a few days off from work before Memorial Day, and one of her requests was that I take her as my guest to early morning member hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which are on Thursdays from 9-10 am. I had told her and her sister about visiting the Winslow Homer exhibit that way.
One of her favorite places in the museum is the Zen Garden. It wasn’t open in the early hour, but even after the museum opened to the public at 10, we were able to visit without any crowding–it’s tucked away among the Asian art, and if you don’t know where to look, you probably only discover it by stumbling upon it. It’s a bright open empty room with a rocks and a koi pond with a waterfall on the edges.
I used to post about my museum visits a lot, and perhaps in the future I’ll do a post on the Homer exhibit and also the paintings of Louise Bourgeois which were inexplicably hard to find. We asked directions three times, and only found it by accident in the end. But that meant that only one other person was there so we could really look at the art.
The museum also has many wonderful doors and door-like structures, such as the tiled niche above.
My poem is in the Japanese imayo form, which consists of four 7/5 syllabic lines. There is a planned caesura (or pause) between the first 7 syllables and the final 5. Another feature of this form is that it makes three poems–the whole, and one each with the 7-syllable lines and the 5-syllable lines, similar to a cleave poem, except that somehow it seemed more natural to me and easier to construct. I’ve included the color blue for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday #tastetherainbow prompt.
You can read more about the enso here.
And, as always, find more doors with host Dan Antion, here.
47 responses to “Thursday Doors: Zen Garden”
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- June 10, 2022 -
I’ve taught the mihrab you showed many times. A beautiful work.
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Thank you David.
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It’s fun to think about the spaciousness available in words and between words.
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Thanks Aletha. It’s there if we look for it.
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We should look for it. Because it’s wonderful.
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Yes.
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Beautiful place and poem.
There’s a similar area at the Philadelphia Museum of Art–the Asian galleries were all re-done a few years ago.
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My older daughter went to college in Philadelphia, so I visited the museum several times. Perhaps I’ll get back there again, and I’ll look for it.
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Oh, I don’t think I knew that about your daughter. There’s also a medieval French cloister with a fountain that I like even more.
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That sounds appealing to me too. I should actually go up to the Cloisters here–it’s been a long time.
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I’ve never been there, but I’ve always thought it seemed like a cool place.
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These are beautiful photos. I like the poem. Thanks for explaining the form. I haven’t been to this museum since 2002. I think it’s time to visit again.
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It’s so huge, I’m always running across things I’ve never seen before. I’m lucky to live within walking distance now–just across the park.
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You are!
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Oh this was a stunning poem, Kerfe. I love the impermanence of your words… very Zen. These gardens are so lovely and peaceful. I could get lost in my own little world in there. ❤
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Thanks Colleen. It’s like entering a womb in a way. I always dreamed of living in a house with a center garden just like this. Perhaps in my next life!
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Wow! Wouldn’t a central courtyard garden be amazing? 😍
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Yes. There are actually a few apartment buildings in the city that have central courtyard gardens. Out of my price range…
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Same here, but a central garden built in an Asian tradition would be so peaceful.
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Yes. It would be nice to have one all your own.
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Wonderful pictures of the Art Gallery. Awesome post Marta 😊
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Thanks Marta.
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Welcome dear Marta 💕
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Kerfe, I wonder if they make the exhibits hard to find so only the persistent can enjoy them? Glad you found what you were looking for and then sharing pics. I love the poem(s) you created with the form. So lovely.
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Thanks Jade. I like this form, and will probably use it again.
The museum is huge and it’s easy to get lost, although there are always clear directions to the Blockbuster exhibits. I suppose they do like to surprise you if you choose just to wander, which I often do.
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You’re welcome.
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I’d enjoy the Zen garden too and I like that last tiled niche a lot.
janet
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Thanks Janet. It’s a nice respite from the world.
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The poem is profound and describes the photograph beautifully. I found the form interesting and it sounded complicated until I read your poem. Thank you for sharing it. The tiled nice door is very similar to a door I saw in a palace in Rajasthan, influenced by the Mughal rule in India.
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Thanks Smitha. I find forms are often hard to figure out until I actually attempt them.
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The Zen garden looks so peaceful… how special for you to have time with your daughter I would imagine.
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Thanks Jill. It was like old times–we used to go to museums together frequently.
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The Zen Garden looks like a healing and relaxing space – I would love to be there now! Winslow Homer spent some time in Cullercoats on the North East coast of England, not far from where I live.
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Thanks Ingrid. They talked about the influence of that visit to England on Homer in the exhibit. I believe there were also a few paintings that he did there.
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Beautiful!
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That looks like a wonderfully peaceful place to visit, Kerfe. I love museums and could spend hours and hours in their quiet aura. That was a new poetic form for me. Wonderfully written. A beautiful post.
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Thanks Diana. It’s good to be able to look at some live art again. And we can all use some peaceful spaces.
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Orientals are masters in the creation of emptiness.
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Thanks Valentina. Simplicity is important in a lot of Asian art.
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Exactly.
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HI Kerfe, I love everything about this post. The doors are lovely and the poem and Zen garden amazing. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Thanks Robbie. I never get tired of visiting it.
Enjoy your weekend as well.
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So cool for a museum to incorporate living/elemental art in with the more static forms. And I love the imayo. I discover more poetry forms through you than anyone else, you know? There are just so many that I’m grateful to you for cherry-picking! 😉
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Thanks Sun. It’s a wonderful space. I have my favorite poetry forms, but I always like to try new ones.
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Love the form Kerfe and new to me so thank you for explaining it. What an amazing museum thank you for sharing that too.. Sally x
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Thanks Sally. The form was new to me too.
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