Poetry Forum

Heart Sutra


There is no water in the cup.
There is no cup, no water.
Out of the tunnel  

Especially enjoyed the first two stanzas John. The philosophy of emptying/emptiness is appealing.

I'm on my way to bed, but just want to say I like it. If this were mine, I'd keep working on it to see what images I could come up with for the stanzas, possibly increasing their number. I've been listening to Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" lately, and man, I love the images he came up with for that poem -- especially the later version that had more stanzas.

Hi Phil, hi Caleb,

I’m glad to hear you both enjoyed this one! I did try to make it as empty as possible. OTOH, I read it to a Zen monk one day and he was puzzled. The Heart Sutra is a key (and very short) Buddhist text.

Caleb, I share your love for the song Hallelujah, it’s brilliant. I can imagine this poem with more going on, but as I was saying, my goal was to be as empty as possible, on the principle that less is more. it’s a bit of a contrast with the rest of the MS>, which tends to get chatty. I’m hoping folks will find it refreshing!
So for the moment, I’ll probably leave it to sit on the page.

Cheers both,
John

I've restored what is likely a better title.

Cheers,
John

John, I wasn't thinking about this poem in the context of your manuscript. I should have considered that.

Please note that I just reread a thread from 2022 and discovered that I inadvertently snubbed you. Please read the PM I just sent you about the incident.

Well, ideally, each poem should stand alone as well as being part of a whole. I think there's value in asking that question of each.

I've responded to your thoughtful PM.

Cheers,
John

The original title, Heart Sutra, was a way into the poem for me.

Oh! Thanks Phil, I'll restore it.

CHeers,
John