21 May
we traded wabi-sabi treasures
~
i gave her
a heart shaped piece of sea glass
and purple, and pink, and cobalt blue
and bright yellow goldfinch feathers
from a pile an old owl had left on a wooded path
i walked down one afternoon last fall
~
she gave me
aqua sea glass that had been melted in a beach fire
one night long ago
and swept away into the waves of the next high tide
tossed and turned about
and left all melted and bumpy
on the shore she was treasure hunting
and a fairy table
and an peach pit washed clean by the sea
~
once she was my little girl-child
tottering down the path and across the sand
her sweet little hands and tiny fingers
would pick up a pebble or a bit of seashell, or a curvy stick
and stop and turn to me
~look mama, look what I found for you~
~
diamonds, and rubies, and opals, and pearls
are dust beneath my feet
so I take the peach pit from her grown woman's graceful hands
and long slender fingers
and I place it on the fairy table in the kitchen window
and every morning see it there
wabi-sabi glistening
in the morning sunlight
Wabi-sabi is an aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. According to the author, this relatively new term builds on earlier Japanese concepts of sabi (taking pleasure in things that are old, faded, and lonely), and wabi (from the wabi tea room, which was rustic and small).
The author uses a variety of different phrases to describe the idea of wabi-sabi, including:
- Beauty at the edge of nothingness
- The aestheticization of poverty
- Imperfection
- A beauty of things withered
- Beauty hidden in the tentative and ephemeral
- Aesthetic accommodation to the catastrophic realities of the day
- definition of wabi-sabi from shades of meaning
Lovely poetry! And since I love sea glass it is much more beautiful to me!AriadnefromGreece!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteThe simple things in life are so often the best moments.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteSince I hunt treasures too I know the value of this gift.
Very pretty poem and sea glass.
ReplyDeleteA new follower here...thank you for the sweet note you left me at LGH blog. This is my first of this type /series...I plan to do same with one item each week for 'as long as I have things to share with you." I'm just getting acquainted with your blog, looking fwd to getting to know you.
ReplyDeleteLovely test with your image! You pictured the mind of a child perfectly with your words.
ReplyDeleteI want to find a heart shaped piece of sea glass!
ReplyDeleteLots of lovely treasures!
ReplyDeleteLovely!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of all the treasures my daughter would find!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I recently found a jar of sea glass at a yard sale for $1 and it sure did make me happy! A jar of beautiful colors. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann