Friday, October 20, 2017

SHINRIN - YOKU


Picture collage by The Unknown Gnome



I walk under soft, dark greenness.
Peace falls on me like rain,
The fiddlehead fern of my being
slows,
softens,
opens,
gently unfurls.

I breathe in cedar,
moss,
fungi,
spores
that my Inner Old One
remembers
from centuries past.

Shapeshifters
dance
among the trees, unseen,
but felt,
perhaps in the dust motes swirling
in patches of golden sunlight
filtered through ancient cedar.

Somewhere,
an owl utters
a sleepy "who-hoo?"
Somewhere, a black wolf
watches
through the veil,
his eyes speaking
our language without words.
I feel them
in my soul.


Shinrin-Yoku: the Japanese art of forest bathing.

This poem is from spring 2016 and is shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United. Come join us for some fine reading with your morning coffee.


28 comments:

  1. I can sense and feel everything, very visual and such a delight to read. You have a way with words my friend. Greetings to you.

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  2. This speaks to me, somewhere deep inside I feel the hum of recognition. Thank you...

    Elizabeth

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  3. I love shinrin-yoku. I love this poem

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  4. I love it, the photo and the poem!

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  5. Oh! The forest sings to Sumana and is a full ritual bath to you. Amazing moments: "Peace falls on me like rain,
    The fiddlehead fern of my being
    slows,
    softens,
    opens,
    gently unfurls."

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  6. Aaah...I could FEEL each single word. What a blessing to read such beauteous lines, Sherry!

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  7. This poem feels other-worldly, Sherry. You write so very artfully about those things that many humans do not see, hear, or experience. You have a gift! (Really love the picture of Pup and you!)

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  8. fern of my being... love that image!

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  9. I loved the reference to unfurling like the fiddlehead fern.

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  10. his eyes speaking
    our language without words.
    I feel them in my soul

    When one feels it, it does not need words! Very clever assertion, Sherry!

    Hank

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  11. I love this!❤️ Especially; "Shapeshifters dance among the trees, unseen, but felt, perhaps in the dust motes swirling in patches of golden sunlight filtered through ancient cedar." Beautifully done.❤️

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  12. You convey a palpable sense of peace and wholeness in this blissful example of forest bathing.

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  13. I love that the entire forest is full of knowing, of memories of what was and will always be... It fills the soul with hope, with the understanding that one day, the speaker (and us) will be part of what goes unseen but is felt.

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  14. Reminded me of the time I went on a hiking trail so very long ago and breathed in the forest air.. you accurately recreate your experience for us

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  15. You are as every bit part of the forest as the creatures you write about.

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  16. I love these lines:

    Shapeshifters
    dance
    among the trees, unseen,
    but felt,
    perhaps in the dust motes swirling
    in patches of golden sunlight
    filtered through ancient cedar.

    because the notion of a shapeshifter is beautiful when you think about it minus the usual dark connotation given it by authors. I love this piece Sherry. Have a great new week!

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  17. It is always nice to be in senses with nature and become a part of her.

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  18. lovely odours to this poem - the dank ferns evoke burial and something other worldly in the connections

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  19. Love all the connections to nature... especially the ferns that for me seems to be really ancient.

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  20. Oh how i luv this line
    "The fiddlehead fern of my being"

    Thanks for dropping by my Sunday Standard today Sherry

    much love...

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  21. Beautiful poem. I thrive with periodic forest bathing. It always revives my spirit.

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  22. I really like the way you make your work carry a spiritual feel relating to nature that touches me within. Hope all's fine in your part of the world.

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  23. I love the fern unfurling--opening oneself to the life around it--this is beautiful!

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  24. I love this poem and the idea of forest bathing....when I go to the woods it is to sit and walk and use my senses to just be there....to take it in and feel it deep within. I have never learned much about forest bathing, but I think I practice it from time to time....and I think my soul may need more of it, more often. Visually beautiful poem conjuring deep peace for me.

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  25. What a lovely homage to Shinrin-Yoku. A delicately penned, ethereal quality to this. 'Peace falls on me like rain' ~ sigh ~ the serenity of the forest ... whiffled into words.

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  26. Breezy, soulful, and peaceful vibes here. Love everything about it.

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  27. The language without words is the one that speaks most clearly to my soul--and to yours, I suspect.

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