Even more than most poems, \u201cBe Not Defeated\u201d should reward reading aloud with pauses. \u00a0 I think this Buddhist poet will meet readers of the list again.<\/p>\n
Have a blest week.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
john sj<\/p>\n
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Today\u2019s Post \u00a0\u2014 \u00a0Kenji Miyazawa: \u201cBe Not Defeated by the Rain\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Unbeaten by the rain \u201cBe Not Defeated by the Rain\u201d by\u00a0Kenji Miyazawa.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Translated from the original Japanese by Hart Larrabee. Text as\u00a0posted<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Tomo\u00a0<\/strong>\u53cb<\/strong><\/a>(08\/05\/2012).<\/p>\n Curator\u2019s note:<\/em>\u00a0After the poet\u2019s death, a black notebook containing this text was found in his trunk. The poem appears in bold strokes amidst his repetitious copying of a Buddhist mantra. According to its date (November 3, 1931), he had composed it while on his deathbed. He was only in his thirties. Visit\u00a0this link<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to view a photograph of the poem in the notebook, the original Japanese text, two very different translations (including Larrabee\u2019s, which I prefer), and interviews with the interpreters.<\/p>\n Posted by Phyllis Cole-Dai on Aug 19, 2015 12:00 am<\/p>\n Art credit:<\/em>\u00a0\u201cGirl in the rain,\u201d\u00a0Gicl\u00e9e print\u00a0by\u00a0Pavlo Tereshin.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Monday, \u00a0July 6 \u00a0 {first posted August 14, 2017} “Unbeaten by the rain Unbeaten by the wind Bested by neither snow nor summer heat\u201d Some years ago, browsing \u201cA Week of Being Here,\u201d Kenji Miyazawa met me for the first … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/170\/2015\/08\/rain.jpg\")
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\nUnbeaten by the wind
\nBested by neither snow nor summer heat
\nStrong of body
\nFree of desire
\nNever angry
\nAlways smiling quietly
\nDining daily on four cups of brown rice
\nSome miso and a few vegetables
\nObserving all things
\nWith dispassion
\nBut remembering well
\nLiving in a small, thatched-roof house
\nIn the meadow beneath a canopy of pines
\nGoing east to nurse the sick child
\nGoing west to bear sheaves of rice for the weary mother
\nGoing south to tell the dying man there is no cause for fear
\nGoing north to tell those who fight to put aside their trifles
\nShedding tears in time of drought
\nWandering at a loss during the cold summer
\nCalled useless by all
\nNeither praised
\nNor a bother
\nSuch is the person
\nI wish to be<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/170\/2015\/08\/Miyazawa.jpg\")
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