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Lucia Deyi's avatar

I love this poem!! Especially when it’s turning from all these big impermanent moments to the quiet realisation that only we ourselves really know what’s inside.

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Peck Gee Chua 蔡佩芝's avatar

Thanks, Lucia! Someone recently shared this Zen phrase with me -- 自らを頼りせよ Mizukara o tayori to seyo which means 'rely on yourself'. We can get inspired by others and many outward influences but ultimately it's up to us, the strength and wisdom we carry within us.

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Debbie Liu's avatar

Ah, Peek Gee. I love this poem. In fact I love the whole post, the hydrangeas, the photos, the name and the Japanese connections with hydrangeas.

The way the first line echoes with the fifth is lovely: Love fades. Dynasties fall, echoed by Rain pours. Hydrangeas sway..

When i was a kid, hyrdrangeas grew wildly around the drain under the downpipe of the girls' bedroom. It was dismissed as a "wild, stinky flower". Nowadays, it's sold at shops. I always thought it was beautiful and loved the way it would grow, uncatered for, wildly around the wet areas. When I was seen to be admiring it, I was told to "get away from the stinky plant".

it's wonderful to know that it means grace and harmony and gratitude to water. Thank you for this lovely post!

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Peck Gee Chua 蔡佩芝's avatar

Debbie, Thanks for your thoughtful comments! I really like your story on the initial "uselessness" of the "wild, stinky hydrangeas" to now being sold at shops. I'm glad you noticed and appreciated them long before others do!

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Baird Brightman's avatar

"Love fades. Dynasties fall."

Perfect! Right up there with Shelley's "Ozymandias" and Shakespeare's "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow", so you're in good company PGC! 👏

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Peck Gee Chua 蔡佩芝's avatar

Ha thanks, Baird. I had to look them up and just wow! Going to keep these thoughts in mind when I head out for a long walk in nature today.

~"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

~"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time."

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Baird Brightman's avatar

Glad you tracked those quotes down, Peck! They align nicely with your excellent poem.

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

So beautiful!!

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