The Buddha’s features
pointlessly destroyed. Solid rock
blasted, fragmented.
Intolerance and hatred,
The ugly masks worn by fear.
His serenity
could never be embedded
in the sculpted stone.
His unbounded compassion
untroubled by destruction.
The Buddha’s features pointlessly destroyed. Solid rock blasted, fragmented. Intolerance and hatred, The ugly masks worn by fear. His serenity could never be embedded in the sculpted stone. His unbounded compassion untroubled by destruction. |
Author's Comments
This piece has been a slow burn. I made the first note for it a year ago.
I hesitated because I didn't want to write a rant. It finally seemed that the tanka provided the distance necessary to convey the enormity of the event, and the futility of the mind set that brought it about. As for mature content, I hope my poem has more of that than the Taliban's act did. 03/09: A year after the first posting  pointed out a flaw that neither I nor any other commenters had seen. It has now been rectified. I am very grateful fo his keen observation. |
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reports, 14h 42m agoDaily Literature Deviations is a group that is dedicated to bringing literature to the forefront of the deviantArt community. We attempt to accomplish this by daily featuring Literature artists from around the community that deserve the recognition, but are not getting it. Each day we will feature 5 deviations from the Literature categories in a News Article. In order to support the artists that we feature, we ask that you the news article as well as check out the individual pieces. We understand that each day you may not be able to check out each and every one of the pieces, everyone has their own things going on. We just ask that you make an attempt to help support the growing Literature community.59 WE.LOVE.ART.FEATURE.VII.HOLIDAY.SPECIAL.~allieweasley
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Comments
Oh you Buddhist, you!
--
I passed by the window, and marked with one eye,
How the owl and the panther were sharing a pie.
The panther took pie crust, gravy and meat,
While the owl took the dish as his share of the treat.
SharedAccount
I haven't studied tanka. Is it a set structure like haiku?
Tanka is haiku's older (and bigger) brother. It has two extra lines, both of which are supposed to contain seven syllables.
The haiku came into being when Basho, the most famous of Japan's traditional poets, dropped those last two lines. A long time ago.
--
There's always a better poem just out of reach.
Words create situations [link]
The roots of the future run deep [link]
I taught Basho in my World Lit class last summer. It was my first experience with him and thought he would probably be the only haiku most of my students would ever see... Thanks for explaining tanka to me.
--
"We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us."
~Samuel Johnson
I also love your signature quote from the good Doctor. You can almost see the irony dripping
--
There's always a better poem just out of reach.
Words create situations [link]
The roots of the future run deep [link]
I'm not sure what else I can say to this.
--
Wowza! How awesomesupremo! That\'s just so ulticooliolicious!
Thank you very much
--
There's always a better poem just out of reach.
Words create situations [link]
The roots of the future run deep [link]
Thank you.
--
Whimsy and worry
Wonderfully plays.
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