Chinese Poetry & Wabi-Sabi

Many of the poems written long ago by Chinese poets have the feel of wabi-sabi

Oxen and sheep were brought back down
Long ago, and bramble gates closed. Over
Mountains and rivers, far from my old garden,
A windswept moon rises into clear night.

Springs trickle down dark cliffs, and autumn
Dew fills ridgeline grasses. My hair seems
Whiter in lamplight. The flame flickers
Good fortune over and over – and for what?

~ Tu Fu, Born: c. 712, Chinese Poet,
translation by Kenneth Rexroth

Tu Fu lived in a critical period with military rebellions and wars with border tribes. Helpless, like most people caught up in catastrophic events, he recorded his feelings and observations through poetry. The phrase, "The flame flickers good fortune over and over," suggest to me that as Tu Fu grew older, he realized that good fortune comes and goes like the flicker of a flame. His "hair whiter in lamplight" suggests an awareness that his life is coming to an end, that the flame of his life and existence will soon flicker out and fade away. Read more: The life of Tu Fu

On an overcast winter day, I visited an old farm that had been donated as a historical site. At day's end, the sun was sometimes peeking through cloud, flickering on an off on this fence post and latch. The old latch had rusted shut and the farmer had evidently replaced it with a leather belt.

Some of Tu Fu's phrases (oxen and sheep were brought back down long ago, and bramble gates closed) had the feel of the scenes I found on this farmstead.

Gate Latch : Scotsdale Farm, Ontario