First Known When Lost: Elections
Elections
Of course, one should never expect to witness the disappearance of human folly, malice, and bad faith while one is still above ground. “The vale of Soul-making” is no picnic, after all. Not unexpected are the perennial ways of humanity: it has all been done, seen, and said before. But it is tiresome nonetheless. Best to let it all go.
Autumn Night: Depicting Busyness in the Midst of Silence
White-haired, in clear autumn touched by scenes and emotions,
among hills, moon my companion, living out the last of my life:
night deepens, no lingering echoes from the ten thousand pipes;
all I hear is the sound of the sōzu tapping the rock.
Ishikawa Jōzan (1583-1672) (translated by Burton Watson), in Burton Watson, Kanshi: The Poetry of Ishikawa Jōzan and Other Edo-Period Poets (North Point Press 1990), page 25.
Watson provides a note on the sōzu: “The sōzu is a device made of a bamboo tube that periodically fills with water from a stream, tips to pour out the water, and then returns to its original position, striking a rock and producing a sharp rapping sound as it does so. It was intended to scare deer away from the garden.” Ibid, page 25.
Eustace Nash (1886-1969), “Poole Quay from Hamworthy, Dorset”
Source: First Known When Lost: Elections
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