Moonshock
I walk across a huge courtyard
two or three nights a week
to take out some rubbish-
and the night sky shocks me
with its bright moon and stars
(Copenhagen, 2024)
I wrote the above, late one night, after work. Many times I have walked across the courtyard behind where I work to take out the trash at the end of the night, before going home. Many times I have been shocked by the moon, or the fact that the stars are visible from deep within the city.
For thousands of years us human-beings have used language and image to try and capture the wonder of the Moon, with every culture, ancient and modern, having a story for the Moon’s creation and its relationship to life on our planet. I am not knowledgeable enough in any of the fields of my interests in order to unpack the Moon's significance to the cultures of the world in a blog post. I would not do justice to that, if I tried, and so, maybe we can marvel in wonder the only way we as humans know how and the same way as our ancestors always have; with poetry and song. Hopefully something about the Moon's relationship to life on our planet can be felt through the material featured below.
Please share any great Moon material you have in the comments section at the bottom of the page, and maybe I can put together a greater, revised collection of materials one day.
Below is a playlist I made, which moves through some of my favourite artists and genres, from steel string guitars and the swooning slack key of Hawaii, to scratching fleas and yippin’ like a coyote with Hank Williams. Tranquility, transcendence, beauty, the passing of time, love... these songs below seem to communicate something of what I felt crossing the courtyard and writing the poem at the beginning of this post.
I thought I’d share below some places where the Moon has featured in poetry, at least some that I have found from my readings. To start with, are two poems by Gary Snyder.
From Snyder’s book ‘Back On The Fire’ (2007) Technically a translation by Snyder; he is quoting a passage from the Song of Enlightenment (Cheng Dao Ke) a Chan buddhist text from the late 8th Century; and one that held significance with Snyder through his life of studying and practising Zen (Chan) Buddhism.
The next one is a poem, from Snyder’s book ‘The Back Country’ (1967).
In Buddhism, the Moon symbolises truth and enlightenment and through this framework it has developed a deeply contemplative nature in Chinese and Japanese cultures, featuring heavily in their written and visual artforms. Below; some haikus from Matsuo Basho (Japan), a poem from Li Bai (China) and some woodcut prints from various artists in the Ukiyo-e movement (Japan).
Long-distance-walker and master of the haiku; Matsuo Basho’s work was based on the contemplation of the human condition by putting images of nature and landscapes around him into play against his internal imagery of the mind. Finding Matsuo Basho’s work early in his studies of Japanese art and culture, Robbie Basho (above, 12-string guitar) adopted his name. Basho is known for his championing of the Haiku form and his vast travels on foot, boat and horseback exploring the landscapes of ancient Japan. Below, some haikus!
Ballads for The Moon
Clair de Lune (For Twelve-String) [Live] - Robbie Basho
Mr. Moon - Carl Smith
Poor Moon - Canned Heat
Midnight - Red Foley
Howlin’ At The Moon - Hank Williams
Blue Hawaiian Moonlight - Gabby Pahinui
The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise - John Fahey
Moonlight Swim - Elvis Presley
Blue Moon - Elvis Presley
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Variations on Clair De Lune - Robbie Basho
Link to Spotify playlist is here.
I open and close the playlist with Robbie Basho’s interpretations of Clair De Lune - the third and most famous movement of Claude Debussy's Suite Bergamasque (1890) - although the suite is composed for piano, Basho is playing this piece on his twelve-string guitar. The original piece, from Claude Debussy, is inspired by the below poem Clair De Lune (1869) by French poet Paul Verlaine, which I have included below. We have French text on the left and translation to English on the right, courtesy of Norman R. Shapiro’s One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine - Bilingual Edition, University of Chicago Press (1998). The original poem uses imagery and the idea of landscapes, to look at the internal landscape-of-the-soul and Basho’s interpretation on guitar is enigmatic of a search for transcendence that is present in all of his music.
The moon shines on the river,
The wind blows through the pines-
Who is this long, beautiful evening for
From the Cheng Dao Ke
From Snyder’s book ‘Back On The Fire’ (2007) Technically a translation by Snyder; he is quoting a passage from the Song of Enlightenment (Cheng Dao Ke) a Chan buddhist text from the late 8th Century; and one that held significance with Snyder through his life of studying and practising Zen (Chan) Buddhism.
The next one is a poem, from Snyder’s book ‘The Back Country’ (1967).
Once Only
Almost at the equator
almost at the equinox
exactly at midnight
from a ship
the full
moon
in the center of the sky.
Sappa Creek near Singapore
March 1958
In Buddhism, the Moon symbolises truth and enlightenment and through this framework it has developed a deeply contemplative nature in Chinese and Japanese cultures, featuring heavily in their written and visual artforms. Below; some haikus from Matsuo Basho (Japan), a poem from Li Bai (China) and some woodcut prints from various artists in the Ukiyo-e movement (Japan).
Long-distance-walker and master of the haiku; Matsuo Basho’s work was based on the contemplation of the human condition by putting images of nature and landscapes around him into play against his internal imagery of the mind. Finding Matsuo Basho’s work early in his studies of Japanese art and culture, Robbie Basho (above, 12-string guitar) adopted his name. Basho is known for his championing of the Haiku form and his vast travels on foot, boat and horseback exploring the landscapes of ancient Japan. Below, some haikus!
The autumn moon;
I wandered round the pond
all night long
Bashō (translated by R. H. Blyth), Ibid, page 385.
I travel far north:
changeable skies block my views
of full autumn moon
Bashō (translated by James David Andrews), Full Moon Is Rising: Lost Haiku of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694 And Travel Haiku of Matsuo Bashio a New Rendering), page 141
Imagined: sitting
with old woman, both in tears,
gazing at the moon
Bashō (translated by James David Andrews), Full Moon Is Rising: Lost Haiku of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694 And Travel Haiku of Matsuo Bashio a New Rendering), page 94
Check out this blog I found, for lots and lots of poetry, with Basho featuring here and there. The first of the above haikus was quoted from this site! Thanks to the blog-author! https://firstknownwhenlost.blogspot.com/
And a great one here from poet Li Bai (701-762, China, Tang Dynasty) with translation from Arthur Waley.
Drinking Alone in the Moonlight
Among the flowers
i am alone with my pot of wine
drinking by myself;
then lifting my cup
to ask the moon
to drink along with me,
its reflection and mine,
together in the cup of wine,
just the three of us;
when I sigh,
for the moon cannot drink,
and my shadow goes emptily along
with me never saying a word;
with no other friends here, I can
but use these two for company
…
I had a very hard time choosing a translation for this great poem. There are many great translators and poets who have tried to translate Li Bai’s poem and more impossibly recreate the nuances of the original, into another language. I chose a version translated by Arthur Waley, and not so widely popularised, but I like it for its simplicity compared to other translations. Maybe we lose some of the subtle notions landing in other attempts; but I think the essence of the poem is more easily felt through this kind of translation. Li Bai was a poet and one of the most formative in Chinese literary history, writing a lot about the gift of friendship, experiencing nature, solitude and the mind, and the joys of drinking.
You can find the full poem, as well as a different translation by Arthur Waley, here: https://allpoetry.com/drinking-alone-in-the-moonlight
The Moon plays a significant role in Japanese culture, with ‘moon viewing’ (tsukimi) being an activity that many people get together for each year. The harvest moon is celebrated with a festival on the fifteenth day of the eight month (of the traditional Japanese calendar) each year, and the waning moon on the thirteenth day of the ninth month; So Harvest Moon is usually celebrated sometime in September and Waning Moon sometime in October.
This is a pretty wonderful event. People get together, out in the open and under the moonlight; watch the moon, write and read haikus or recite their favourite poems from across the globe and eat some food together. No doubt Basho and his compadres are celebrated most gloriously on this day each year - and rightfully so; beneath the moonlight! The custom is thought to have originated in the Heian (794-1185) period, where the wealthy, being influenced by the Chinese custom of ‘Mid-Autumn Festival’, would gather to recite poetry under the full moon of the eight month of the solar calendar. It is tradition to gather in a place where the moon can be seen clearly and to come prepared. A type of Japanese pampas grass is used to decorate the space, and white rice dumplings (shaped like the moon) are eaten along with seasonal produce such as taro, edamame and chestnuts. No great feast is complete without drinking sake and so this is passed around and of course offered up to the Moon in a plea for an abundant harvest. Below; some Ukiyo-e period woodcuts from Japan of tsukimi!
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| Moon Viewing At The Emporer Godaigo's Palace, Triptych, 1888, Toyohara Chikanobu |
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| Moon Viewing Party, 1801, Kitagawa Utamaro |
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Last but not least; American poet, Robert Kelly. The below poem, I found in the appendix of a book called Technicians of the Sacred (1968) by poet and translator Jerome Rothenberg. This was a huge collection of spiritual writings and poetry from cultures around the world, but the book went beyond the standard anthology of folk songs to include visual and sound poetry and the texts and scenarios for ritual events, the first of its kind and spurring the movement between Jerome Rothenberg and Duncan Long that they called ‘ethnopoetics’ (for poetry what ethnomusicology is for music). A widely interesting collection, and a great resource that I will be revisiting on this blog, I am sure. The anthology was sourced and contributed-to by friends, poets, translators and members of the anthropological sciences from all over the globe. Gary Snyder, of course, featured, as did Robert Kelly, who had been working closely with Rothenberg, and whose poem is featured below.
Robert Kelly, frustrated with the English versions of traditional haiku, coined the ‘american haiku’ or the ‘lune’ as a literary form. He settled on a 5-3-5 syllable structure (as opposed to haiku’s 5-7-5) and otherwise the lune was not restricted to subject matter or any other guidelines for literary techniques or construction. Less syllables, but more open.
Below, a poem titled New Moon Over Whaleback, first published in his aptly named book ‘Lunes’ (1965), and appearing at the rear of Technicians of The Sacred (1968); in a section called ‘The Commentaries’ - where Rothenberg provides explanations from sources and translators or supporting material, to the poetry and rituals outlined within the book. The idea being that the anthology is supported by a second section of the book; which helps to provide the tools to add context and understanding to the pieces recorded in the anthology.
This poem from Robert Kelly is included to demonstrate contrast of two images within poetry and it’s used in reference to a series of two-line Bantu poems / or verbalisms that play with the contrast between two images; similar to a riddle (featured on p. 17 of Technicians of The Sacred). Bantu is an ethnolinguistic-family of central and south Africa and the original two line poems were sourced for the book from Henri A. Junod;s, Life of a South African Tribe (Macmillan & Co, 1912, 1927).
But below; Robert Kelly’s poem - in the lune form.
New Moon Over Whaleback
This new moon low down
a plain sky
holding it in place
/
I can’t find the moon
where is it
a black face in black sky
/
Her hands are fire-red
& hold me
it is just one hand
/
red bark the spring moon
going down
Earth licks its fat lips
/
This is night’s red eye
red-rimmed from
someone else’s sun
/
The last days like this
a red stone
all we know of fire
(from Lunes, Hawk’s Well Press, 1965)
(Technicians of the Sacred, 1968, p.400)
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