Barry
I'm glad that was of use: it was particularly coming across the Shiki poem
that struck me, in an essay on 'laughter in haiku'. He wrote the piece just
a few days before his death and had by then abandoned medication (hence the
snake-gourd blossoming). I found it quite 'liberating'. I've had a bad
night, hence up early in the UK, but have been delighted to discover that I
share my condition with horses, among which it is caused by eating fungus
contaminated straw. An immense sense of animal commonality has descended
upon me :)
best
David
On 24 August 2011 22:36, Barry Alpert <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Intriguing. Everyday my damaged lungs cleanse themselves of what I
> visualize as a covering of phlegm, on 3-5 occasions, often with my conscious
> assistance but also unexpectedly, prompted by an intake of fluids or a bout
> of talking. I'm told it sounds deadly serious, but I'm used to the process.
> Early on, hospital burn unit nurses and doctors emphasized its value. I
> hadn't thought of that activity as the subject for a poem, however, and I
> thank you for providing three precedents.
>
> Barry
>
>
> On Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:05:18 +0100, David Bircumshaw <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >*Vespasian Cough*
> >
> >*(after Shiki)*
> >
> >
> > The snake has grappled
> >
> >my throat. I think I'm about
> >
> >to re-enter stone.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > As well my own respiratory illness and the Emperor Vespasian's last joke,
> >this piece is loosely suggested by a famous poem, written shortly before
> his
> >death from tuberculosis, by Masoaka Shiki (1867-1902):
> >
> >
> > hechima saite tan no tsumarishi hotoke kana
> >
> >
> > The snake gourd blossoms.
> >
> >My throat is blocked with phelgm.
> >
> >I am already a Buddha.
> >
> >
> >--
> >David Joseph Bircumshaw
> >Website and A Chide's Alphabet
> >http://www.staplednapkin.org.uk
> >The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
> >Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/david.bircumshaw
> >twitter: http://twitter.com/bucketshave
> >blog: http://groggydays.blogspot.com/
>
--
David Joseph Bircumshaw
Website and A Chide's Alphabet
http://www.staplednapkin.org.uk
The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/david.bircumshaw
twitter: http://twitter.com/bucketshave
blog: http://groggydays.blogspot.com/
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