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Saturday, 8 October 2011

Lotus


.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Nelumbo_nucifera1.jpg

Nelumbo nucifera (Lotus): photo by Shin-改 12 September 2004



The candle burning in the window of the dark house in the wood of the valley of the mind --

the epiphenomenal heaven, the signal within the sign --

always lost, yet again to be found

some time.



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/National_Museum_Vietnamese_History_35_%28cropped%29.jpg

The boy Buddha rising up from lotus:
Trần-Hồ dynasty, 14th-15th century; image by Jbarta, 28 December 2008 (National Museum of Vietnamese History, Hanoi)

File:Vishnu and Lakshmi on Shesha Naga, ca 1870.jpg

Vishnu and Lakshmi on Shesha Naga
: artist unknown, c. 1870; image by Aavindra, 11 November 2010 (Victoria & Albert Museum, London)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Raja_Ravi_Varma%2C_Goddess_Lakshmi%2C_1896.jpg

The Goddess Lakshmi: Raja Ravi Jarma (1848-1906), 1898; image by Praveenp 31 January 2011 (Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Gujarart)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Sacred_lotus_Nelumbo_nucifera.jpg

Flower of Nelumbo nucifera, bean of India: photo by T. Voekler, 3 July 2008

9 comments:

STEPHEN RATCLIFFE said...

Tom,

". . . the signal within the sign --

always lost, yet again to be found

some time."

10.8

light coming into fog against invisible
ridge, black shape of black pine branch
in foreground, wave sounding in channel

further consequence of this
point of view, actual

view of space measured, its
given surfaces, “line”

silver of sunlight reflected in channel,
cloudless blue sky to the left of point

vazambam (Vassilis Zambaras) said...

Having first encountered this as a comment on one of my poems, coming upon it now--accompanied as it is by these images--dulls not its initial wonder but makes it even more wondrous.

TC said...

Trends of the heavens, lost and found signals, light coming into fog against invisible ridge...

A sign to keep/watching.

aditya said...

Ahh!

What poems and what pictures.
Epiphenomenons ...


tip tap-
rain on tarpaulin roof
a song for the ragpicker

ACravan said...

This struck home very powerfully and reminded me (as if that were necessary) that sometimes I find myself thinking clearly (or so it seems to me at the time) and other times I feel completely at sea. I immediately "paired" this with "Humility" on Vanitas, which had a similar effect on me and I think they're both likely to remain with me, in those paired positions, for quite a while. Curtis

TC said...

Aditya,

Tip tap

drip drop

the pit-pat chorus of the epiphenomena

(Up to our elbows in the blacktar of torn-tarpaulin monsoon memories...)


Curtis,

Many thanks.

Yes, that enigmatic "compressed" version of Humility is perhaps a bit spookier.

First time round, in case you're curious, a bit of play went with it:

Humility ("long") version

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Ah, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! From last Wednesday at the hut ... a bit of synchronicity ...

Week of the lotus. Don

TC said...

Don, that's lovely. Same thought, same time. Must mean natural sympathy... or good luck... or friend.

Possibly all of the above.

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Tom, it really is amazing how reality dovetails at times, like waves folding inside each other ...

Don